The Supreme Court has allowed several farmers’ organizations to intervene in a pending suit involving the ownership of the controversial coconut levy funds.

In an En Banc resolution, the Court denied respondent Eduardo M. Cojuangco’s motion for reconsideration seeking to set aside the Court’s January 28, 2008 resolution granting the motion for leave to intervene and admit attached petition-in-intervention of several farmers’ groups, including the Surigao del Sur Federation of Agricultural Cooperations (SUFAC), Moro Farmers Association of Zamboanga del Sur (MOFAZS), and Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahan ng Magsasaka (PAKISAMA), and other intervenors such as former senators Jovito R. Salonga and Wigberto E. Tañada, and former representative Oscar Santos. Intervenors Salonga, Tañada, and Santos sued in their capacity as taxpayers, while the intervenor-farm groups asserted their interest in the suit as their members or predecessors-in-interest were among those who paid the coconut levy.

In granting the motion of intervenors, the High Court said that having previously ruled on the prima facie public nature of the coconut levy funds as a form of tax, the intervenors had the right to intervene in the suit as taxpayers. “The present controversy may be the proper subject of a taxpayer’s suit since the Republic is claiming that, inter alia, respondent Cojuangco acquired the subject San Miguel Corporation shares by unlawfully using coconut levy funds during the Marcos regime – funds which, as priorly mentioned, have been found to be prima facie public in character,” the Court said, referring to its December 14, 2001 decision in Republic v. COCOFED. (GR Nos. 147062-64). (GR No. 166859, Republic v. Sandiganbayan, March 25, 2008)