At long last in this Aquino administration, someone from the executive department, in the person of Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, has openly sided with the small coconut farmers’ quest to recover the coconut levy assets from Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco. It is highly encouraging to know that the secretary has not wavered a bit on a position he has held since he was a representative of a congressional district in Quezon province.
It is not surprising, though, that the Philippine Coconut Authority takes the standpoint of Cojuangco and the Philippine Coconut Federation. Even the Presidential Commission on Good Government’s efforts to recover the coconut farmers’ 20-percent stake in San Miguel Corp. appear to have lost steam as presidential appointees to the UCPB-CIIF Group included people close to Cojuangco.
President Aquino himself, of course, still has nothing to say on this relevant social justice issue. Yet this administration has so many personalities who are known to give a premium to the delivery of social justice to the marginalized. I sincerely hope they can make their stand on the issue known as well, especially to the President.
—JOEY FAUSTINO,
executive director,
Coconut Industry Reform Movement,
coir_inc@yahoo.com