Yorac turns down SMC board seat

Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) Chairwoman Haydee Yorac has turned down Malacañang’s offer of a seat in the 15-man board of food conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), saying she wants to avoid "a conflict of interest."

"I cannot accept the offer because of my position at the PCGG. I already informed Malacañang about that," Yorac said.

The Palace wanted Yorac to occupy one of government’s five SMC board seats occupied by nominees of former President Joseph Estrada. The Arroyo administration has questioned the appointment of the five incumbent nominees but the courts have allowed them to stay until April next year.

The PCGG had asked the Estrada nominees to step down because of their failure to report the planned buy-in of Japan’s Kirin Brewery Co. Ltd. into SMC.

Kirin will buy a 15-percent stake in SMC for P27.9 billion ($540 million) as part of a global expansion plan. The deal involves the sale of around 443 million unissued "B" shares at P62.

At present, 27 percent of SMC shares are under sequestration by the government. The shares were allegedly bought using the coconut levy fund collected from farmers during the rule of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Yorac said the government’s interim agreement with SMC management for the protection of the coco levy stakes in the wake of the Kirin buy-in has yet to be finalized.

The SMC board will be holding an emergency stockholders’ meeting on Feb. 27 to formalize the accord.

Meanwhile, the PCGG and group of businessman Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco reached an agreement on the reorganization of United Coconut Planters Bank, which is seen as a prelude to government’s entry in SMC.

Yorac said the PCGG nominated 14 representatives to the 15-man board, namely Edward Go as chairman and president, Ramon Arceo as treasurer, Helen Osias, Rolando Golez, Cayetano Paderanga, Ruben Carranza, Victoria Avena, Prudencio Garcia, Alejandro Asis, Carlo Estabillo, Carolina Diangco, Vicente Fabe, Romeo Royandoyan and Jose Ma. Faustino.

The government has yet to name the 15th member of the board. – With Marianne Go