By Vincent Cabreza
Inquirer Northern Luzon
Businessman Eduardo “Danding†Cojuangco Jr., an uncle of President Benigno Aquino III and crony of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, is the legitimate owner of a fifth of shares in San Miguel Corp., which government claims he acquired using the controversial coconut levy funds.
SMC is the country’s biggest food and beverage conglomerate, which has diversified into power generation, telecommunications and other businesses.
The Supreme Court, sitting en banc, affirmed a 2007 decision issued by the Sandiganbayan and declared “that the block of shares in SMC in the names of respondents Cojuangco et al. ... is the exclusive property of Cojuangco et al. as registered owners.â€
The government had been contesting 20 percent of SMC’s capital stock or 16,276,879 shares that Cojuangco allegedly acquired through the coco levy when he headed the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB). [SMC closed Tuesday at P153 a share in the Philippine Stock Exchange and San Miguel Brewery Inc. at P30.6.]
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