GR 177857; (September, 2012) (Digest)
G.R. Nos. 177857-58, September 4, 2012
PHILIPPINE COCONUT PRODUCERS FEDERATION, INC. (COCOFED), ET AL., Petitioners, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent. WIGBERTO E. TAÑADA, ET AL., Intervenors.
G.R. No. 178193 DANILO B. URSUA, Petitioner, vs. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent.
FACTS
This case involves a Motion for Reconsideration filed by petitioners COCOFED, et al., seeking to overturn the Court’s January 24, 2012 Decision. That Decision had affirmed, with modification, the Sandiganbayan’s Partial Summary Judgments which declared that shares of stock acquired using coconut levy funds—specifically the CIIF block of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) shares and the sequestered UCPB shares—are owned by the Government in trust for the benefit of all coconut farmers and for the development of the coconut industry. Petitioners raised multiple grounds, including alleged erroneous factual findings, lack of jurisdiction, violation of due process, and the incorrect application of legal doctrines.
A significant intervening development was the Court’s earlier Resolution dated September 17, 2009, which had approved the conversion of the 753,848,312 CIIF SMC common shares into SMC Series 1 Preferred Shares. This conversion was undertaken with the approval of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) and was subject to the condition that the shares remain in custodia legis, under sequestration, with their ultimate ownership still to be finally determined by the Court.
ISSUE
Whether the Motion for Reconsideration of the January 24, 2012 Decision should be granted, and how the prior conversion of the CIIF SMC common shares into preferred shares affects the Court’s final disposition regarding the ownership of these assets.
RULING
The Court DENIED the Motion for Reconsideration with finality. The arguments presented were deemed a mere rehash of issues already thoroughly discussed and resolved in the January 24, 2012 Decision and were found to be unsubstantial. The Court found no compelling reason to modify or reverse its prior ruling.
However, the Court found it necessary to CLARIFY the dispositive portion of its January 24, 2012 Decision to reconcile it with the factual alteration effected by the September 17, 2009 Resolution. The Court held that the subject of its ownership declaration is the converted 753,848,312 SMC Series 1 Preferred Shares—not the original common shares. Consequently, the fallo was clarified to specify that these SMC Series 1 Preferred shares, resulting from the conversion, together with all dividends and increments accruing after September 17, 2009, are declared owned by the Government. This ownership is for the exclusive benefit of all coconut farmers and the development of the coconut industry. The Sandiganbayan’s resolutions were affirmed, confirming that no further trial was needed on the ownership of the sequestered UCPB shares, the CIIF block of SMC shares, and the CIIF companies.