Danding: SMC is mine

BEIJING (via PLDT) -- "They're mine."

Businessman Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco said here yesterday he would continue to contest in court the sequestration of his shares in San Miguel Corp. (SMC) and United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) as he maintained the shares were never bought out of the controversial coconut levy fund.

"As far as I am concerned, I bought them out of my own money," said Cojuangco, who arrived here Wednesday in time to meet with President Estrada.

Cojuangco is the chairman of food and beverage giant SMC, which has breweries, packaging and bottling companies in various parts of this country. The company hosted a luncheon yesterday for the visiting President and his official party.

Mr. Estrada met with Cojuangco to convince his close friend and political ally to accept a proposed resolution of the coco levy issue.

The businessman told The STAR his team of lawyers, led by former Solicitor General Estelito Mendoza, has been discussing the issue with government officials.

Cojuangco's shares in SMC and UCPB were taken over by the Presidential Commission on Good Government for allegedly being bought out of the coco levy funds collected from millers and farmers.

But Cojuangco has been insisting that he bought the shares out of his own pocket.

Cojuangco's lawyers have been meeting with a government panel to discuss the establishment of a coco levy trust fund.

The proposed fund will use the estimated P5 billion interest earnings from the locked coco levy funds in SMC and UCPB, but will not include Cojuangco's own shares.