CADIZ DEPARTURE MAY IMPERIL FARMER'S VICTORY?
[PHOTO - NEWLY APPOINTED OMBUDSMAN -Francis Jardeleza, who used to be
the general counsel of San Miguel Corp., partly owned by the President's uncle,
Eduardo Cojuangco]
MANILA,
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 (INQUIRER) By
Delfin T. Mallari Jr., Leila B. Salaverria Inquirer Southern Luzon - The
changing of the guard at the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) should not
lead to a change in its position to distribute Hacienda Luisita to land tillers,
farmers and militant groups said Monday.
The groups expressed concern that the resignation of Solicitor General Jose
Anselmo Cadiz could be linked to the land dispute.
Renato Reyes of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan noted that Cadiz resigned before
the Supreme Court case on the sugar estate, which is owned by President Benigno
Aquino III's family, could become final.
"We are very concerned about the position of the replacement of SolGen Cadiz
on the Luisita dispute still pending in the Supreme Court. Cadiz's resignation
comes at a critical juncture when the court sets to rule with finality on the
case," Reyes said.
The Supreme Court ordered in November last year the distribution of the
Tarlac sugar estate to farmers under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law,
ending years of heated debate over the fate of the land.
The hacienda management has filed a motion for reconsideration and
clarification over the amount to be paid to the farmers and asked the court to
give the farmers the option to remain as stockholders.
Before this decision was handed down, the OSG under Cadiz and Agrarian Reform
Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes, had argued for the distribution of land and had
contested the previous court ruling that allowed farmers to choose between
getting shares of stocks or a redistribution of the estate
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) believes that the Cadiz's resignation
has something to do with the controversial case.
"We believe that Solicitor General Anselmo Cadiz's resignation is closely
linked to the continuing political maneuvers and arm-twisting being exerted by
the President's family involving the Hacienda Luisita agrarian dispute," said
Randall Echanis, the KMP deputy secretary general.
Both Reyes and Echanis were adamant that the position taken by Cadiz should
stay.
"The new SolGen must not depart from the basic position already taken by the
OSG," Reyes said. "We will be closely watching the new SolGen should he take on
a position favorable to Luisita."
He added that there would be questions about whether the Hacienda Luisita
case was a factor in the selection of Cadiz's replacement.
Next SolGen
Cadiz will be replaced by Deputy Ombudsman Francis Jardeleza, who used to be
the general counsel of San Miguel Corp., partly owned by the President's uncle,
Eduardo Cojuangco.
Jardeleza declined to be interviewed about the matter on Monday because there
was no statement yet from Malacañang about his appointment.
Jardeleza has a master of laws from Harvard Law School and was the
salutatorian of his class at the University of the Philippines College of Law.
He used to work for the Accra Law Office and had chaired its litigation
department. He later left to put up his own law firm.
San Miguel lawyer
In 1996, he became the senior vice president and counsel of San Miguel Corp.
He held the position up to June 30, 2010, leaving it for early retirement.
He specialized in mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring,
securities, intellectual property and corporate governance. He teaches
constitutional law at the UP College of Law.
A national coalition of coconut farmers' group on Monday assailed the looming
appointment of Jardeleza as solicitor general.
The appointment of Jardeleza as solicitor general would be "bad news" for
coconut farmers who claim ownership of the 20-percent in San Miguel shares in
Cojuangco's name, said Joann Fernandez, spokesperson of Kilusan Para sa Tunay na
Repormang Agraryo at Katarungang Panlipunan (Katarungan).
Fernandez said Mr. Aquino should appoint "a people's lawyer as SolGen and not
a lawyer of his uncle, Danding."
Coco levy shares
She said Katarungan feared that Jardeleza would not lift a finger against the
interests of San Miguel. "Our struggle to regain the coco levy shares in Mr.
Cojuangco's possession has again suffered a serious blow," she said.
A group of coconut farmers in the country has been seeking the return of the
funds from the levy that were used to acquire shares of stocks in San Miguel.
In April last year, however, the Supreme Court affirmed a 2007 decision of
the Sandiganbayan and declared that the 20-percent block of shares in San Miguel
held by Cojuangco, which coconut farmers claimed was bought using the coco levy
fund, was his "exclusive property."
The motion for reconsideration filed by coconut farmers' groups on the
20-percent block of shares was not only denied but was expunged by the high
tribunal.
A second motion for reconsideration filed by farmers' groups and the
Presidential Commission on Good Government in November last year is still
pending in the Supreme Court.
The militant Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA), the mother
federation of farmers' groups in Hacienda Luisita, said Cadiz resigned "because
of his failure to protect the interest of Aquino in Hacienda Luisita."
"There is no great deal of reason why he resigned not unless he made Aquino
mad at his position to distribute Hacienda Luisita. First Corona, now Cadiz.
Who's next in line?" UMA secretary general Rodel Mesa said in a statement.
Mesa said the resignation of Cadiz and the impeachment trial of Chief Justice
Renato Corona was part of the "grand plan of the Cojuangco-Aquino clan to take
back Hacienda Luisita." With a report from Philip Tubeza
Farmers fear Cadiz departure may imperil Luisita victory
By Leila B. Salaverria Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines—The changing of the guard at the Office of the Solicitor
General (OSG) should not lead to a change in its position to distribute Hacienda
Luisita to land tillers, farmers and militant groups said Monday.
The groups expressed concern that the resignation of Jose Anselmo
Cadiz (photo) may be linked to the land dispute.
Renato Reyes of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan noted that Cadiz resigned
before the Supreme Court case on the sugar estate, which is owned by President
Aquino's Cojuangco relatives, could become final.
"We are very concerned about the position of the replacement of Solgen Cadiz
on the Luisita dispute still pending before the Supreme Court. Cadiz's
resignation comes at a critical juncture when the court sets to rule with
finality on the case," Reyes said.
Last November, the Supreme Court ordered the distribution of the Tarlac sugar
estate to farmers under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, ending years of
heated debate over the fate of the land. The hacienda management has filed a
motion for reconsideration and clarification over the amount to be paid to the
farmers and asked the court to give the farmers the option to remain as
stockholders.
Before this decision was handed down, the OSG under Cadiz and Agrarian Reform
Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes, had argued for the distribution of land and had
contested the previous court ruling that allowed farmers to choose between
getting shares of stocks or a redistribution of the estate
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas believes that the Cadiz resignation has
something to do with the controversial case.
"We believe that Solicitor General Anselmo Cadiz's resignation is closely
linked to the continuing political maneuvers and arm-twisting being exerted by
the President's family involving the Hacienda Luisita agrarian dispute," said
Randall Echanis, KMP deputy secretary general.
Both Reyes and Echanis were adamant that the position taken by Cadiz should
stay.
"The new Solgen must not depart from the basic position already taken by the
OSG," Reyes said. "We will be closely watching the new Solgen should he take on
a position favorable to Luisita."
He added that there would be questions about whether the Hacienda Luisita
case was a factor in the selection of Cadiz' replacement.
Cadiz reportedly would be replaced by Deputy Ombudsman Francis Jardeleza, who
used to be the general counsel of San Miguel Corporation owned by Eduardo
"Danding" Cojuangco, an uncle of the President.
Jardeleza declined to be interviewed about the matter on Monday because there
was no statement yet from Malacanang about his appointment.
Jardeleza has a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School and was the
salutatorian of his class at the University of the Philippines College of Law.
He used to work for the ACCRA Law Office and had chaired its litigation
department. He later left to put up his own law firm.
In 1996, he became the Senior Vice President and counsel of SMC. He held the
position up to June 30, 2010, leaving it for early retirement.
He specialized in mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring,
securities, intellectual property and corporate governance.
He teaches constitutional law at the UP College of Law.
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet
This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.
To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
