Edmer F. Panesa
The Sandiganbayan First Division has slammed the door shut on the attempt by businessman Eduardo "Danding" M. Cojuangco Jr. to get back his shares in United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) that were earlier found to have been illegally acquired with coconut levy funds, and therefore owned by the government.
In a nine-page resolution, the anti-graft court denied for lack of merit Cojuangco’s motion seeking to reconsider its June 5, 2007 resolution affirming its July 11, 2003 partial summary judgment awarding the 72.2 percent shares of stock of UCPB under his name to government.
The court said it found "no cogent reasons to reverse" its previous rulings.
"The points raised by Cojuangco have already been passed upon in the Resolutions of this Court, including the Court’s partial summary judgment, and more particularly the resolution of June 5, 2007," the court declared.
The June 5, 2007 resolution declared the forfeiture of Cojuangco’s UCPB shares as "final and appealable judgment," giving the businessman the green light to challenge the Sandiganbayan decision before the Supreme Court.
In its latest resolution, the court threw out the contention of Cojuangco that there are still "triable issues" in the case, particularly with regard to his claim that he bought the UCPB shares from the late Pedro Cojuangco, the bank’s former owner.
Cojuangco said his ownership of the UCPB shares is evidence by the May 1975 agreement signed by him and Pedro’s then Attorney-in-Fact, now Sen. Edgardo Angara.
But the court said this argument has already been comprehensively settled in the 2003 partial summary judgment.
The court maintained that the use by the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) of coconut levy funds to purchase the 72.2 percent of First United Bank (FUB later on UCPB) in 1975 was illegal.
Section 2 of Presidential Decree No. 755, which was cited by the PCA as authority for the use of the Coconut Consumers’ Stabilization Fund (CCSF), was never published and hence "did not acquire binding force," the court added
It also said that without a legal basis for the purchase of FUB, the bank shares turned over to Cojuangco for brokering the deal was also held invalid.
Cojuangco’s acquisition of the UCPB shares was "not supported by valuable consideration, and therefore null and void," the court declared.
The resolution was penned by Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta, who also wrote last week’s Sandiganbayan decision dismissing the government’s claim over the 20 percent block of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) shares currently controlled by Cojuangco and his companies.
Presiding Justice Teresita Leonardo de Castro and Associate Justice Efren dela Cruz concurred with Peralta’s ruling.
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