Coco levy fund transfer boosts state revenues

MANILA, Philippines - The transfer of coco levy shares to the government has boosted the state coffers by more than P62 billion.

In December 2013, the Supreme Court awarded to the government 24 percent of shares of stock in San Miguel Corp., which was part of the 47 percent block of SMC shares the government sequestered in 1986 on suspicion the shares were part of the coco levy proceeds.

The High Court said the coco levy funds were public funds and should be used by the government for the development of the coconut industry and the benefit of the coconut farmers.

The Department of Finance estimates the shares bought using money paid for by coconut farmers during the Marcos regime were worth P62.51 billion.

According to the DOF, the transfer of these shares pushed up the revenues of the Aquino administration.

Data from the Finance Department showed state revenues of the government from the privatization of assets reached P62.75 billion as of the third quarter, exceeding the P2 billion goal.  This also marked the highest collection since 2007’s collection of P90.61 billion.

Bulk of the revenues came from the sale of shares of the United Coconut Planters’ Bank which the Supreme Court ruled to have been purchased using public funds,

As one of state revenue sources, selling of public assets to the private sector is undertaken every year by the government. Back in the 1990s, it also served as a way to dispose bad assets to ensure the state’s fiscal health.

Other asset sales include those in North Greenhills which fetched P74.81 million in proceeds, Valle Verde (P57.62 million) and BF Homes in Quezon City (P9.5 million).

 Privatization of the National Sugar Development Co. and Land Settlement and Development Corp. also contributed P45 million. The remaining balance of P48.5 million represented lease payments and interest income for the government.

Since the Aquino administration took over, privatization of state-owned assets has taken a back seat as the government implemented its public-private partnership program.

DOF data showed from 2010 to 2013,  the government was only able to raise P19.76 billion from privatization efforts

The PPP scheme has allowed the government to retain control and ownership of state properties while the private sector maintains and upgrades them.

So far, a total of 10 PPP infrastructure projects worth P189 billion had been awarded by the Aquino administration.