The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) issued a tough challenge to incoming Presidential Commission on Good Government chair Camilo Sabio, which called for the freezing of the coco levy funds. 

According to Ka Willy Marbella, internal deputy secretary of the group, “by ordering the freeze of the highly controversial funds and all the assets acquired through it, Chairman Sabio, can ensure that the funds are undiluted and intact until the final ruling on the coco levy funds by the Sandiganbayan and consequently the Supreme Court is issued or that the bill creating the genuine trust fund for small coconut farmers is enacted,”

The group issued this challenged because it is alarmed by the maneuverings of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration to get the funds by placing its operators and bagmen at strategic agencies that has access to the funds like the Department of Agriculture and the Philippine Coconut Authority. The regime is also behind dubious projects like the P8.4 B coco hybrid Agusan del Sur project proposal, that it still wants to push through despite of numerous opposition from different sectors. Malacanang is also being blamed for the resignation of Haydee Yorac as PCGG chairperson; due to her uncompromising stand regarding the coco levy funds and the Marcos ill-gotten wealth.

“With the freezing of the coco levy funds Chairman Sabio can prove that he is really for the small coconut farmers and not a lackey of Malacanang. This would also be a good step to show that he is worthy of the position and not a second rate graft-buster in relation to Yorac,” added the peasant leader.

As for his part Carl Anthony Ala, public information officer of KMP, “the regime seems to be hell-bent on getting the coco levy funds to use it for its own ends. We need to make sure that this does not happen and the real owners of the funds must be the ones to benefit from it. We hope the Chairman Sabio has the same thing in mind, nonetheless we will heighten our vigilance in guarding the product of the sweat and blood of farmers,” # # #
 

KMP - 29 April 2005