Jose V. Romero
Last year as I recall, amidst a lot of drumbeating, Danding Cojuangco as chairman of San Miguel Corporation, handed over a check for P54 billion representing the purchase by the beer company of the shares of the coconut farmers invested with the conglomerate in the form of preferred shares. The check that was handed to officials of the Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF) – the conduit of the farmers in this investment, dutifully accepted the amount which was immediately deposited with the National Treasury, since the Supreme Court ruled this to be government funds, albeit dedicated for the coconut industry.