The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) issued a challenge to all government and private officials involved in handling the controversial coco levy funds to undergo a lifestyle check, in lieu of the recent expose’ that the Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF) chief Rolando Golez has embezzled part of the coco levy fund. 

According to Ka Willy Marbella, internal deputy secretary of KMP, “this is the first and necessary action to see if indeed all the officials in the corporations and agencies handling the funds are beyond reproach and can be trusted. If they refuse then it seems that they have something to hide from the public,”

“We also disagree with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s statement that distinctions should be drawn between board members and the professional line managers because the line managers, CEOs, EVPs, and SVPs may go back to the private sector if not given high pay and perks. But our point is; when you are in the public sector what you are doing is in service of the country and your fellow citizens, perks and abnormally high salaries are not essential for that especially when the people’s money, in this case the small coconut farmer’s money are being extravagantly spent,” added the peasant leader.

Meanwhile Carl Anthony Ala, public information officer of the group has this to say,      “we are now consulting with our lawyers regarding the graft charges we are to file against Mr. Rolando Golez at the Ombudsman’s office, we also believe that we have a very strong case against him because he himself admitted it over the radio,”

“This is literally a slap on the face of Gloria’s austerity measures and it seems that it is her own appointees and her first family itself are causing the destabilization of her regime, through their actions,” ended Ala. # # #
 

KMP - 8 May 2005