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Directors of Cocochem from private sector not requied to submit SALNs -- DOJ
Directors of Cocochem from private sector not requied to submit SALNs -- DOJ
Directors of the United Coconut Chemicals, Inc. (Cocochem) from the private sector are not required to submit Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs), the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
In a legal opinion addressed to the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), DOJ Undersecretary Raul T. Vasquez, on behalf of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla, pointed out that “the private directors of Cocochem were elected by the private shareholders in accordance with the Revised Corporation Code” and are “not public officers.”
“Consequently, the private directors of Cocochem fall outside the coverage of RA (Republic Act) No. 6713, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, which requires all public officials and employees to accomplish and submit declarations under oath of their assets, liabilities, net worth and financial and business interests,” the legal opinion issued last July 10 stated.
PCGG Commissioner-in-Charge Raymond Anthon.C. Dilag sought the legal opinion concerning the 2023 and 2024 legal opinions of the DOJ that declared the Cocochem as a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC).
Dilag argued that Cocochem private directors should not be required to submit SALNs despite the corporation being a GOCC.
Vasquez agreed with Dilag and cited that the GOCC Governance Act identifies two types of directors in a non-chartered GOCC like the Cocochem, namely, the appointive directors and private directors.
While the private directors are elected and represent shareholders, Vasquez explained that under the GOCC Governance Act, appointive directors are “members of its Board of Directors/Trustees whom the State is entitled to nominate, to the extent of its percentage shareholdings in such GOCC.”
He noted an appointive director is selected by the Philippine President from a shortlist prepared by the Government Commission for GOCCs (GCG) pursuant to the GOCC Governance Act.
He reminded that as a GOCC, “Cocochem performs governmental roles in the interest of health, safety and for the advancement of public good and welfare, affecting the public in general.”
Cocochem's website says it is "a modern cocochemical plant in Batangas and is the leading manufacturer of oleochemicals from coconut oil as its only feedstock."