HACIENDA LUISITA TO RESPECT SC RULING
MANILA, NOVEMBER 25,
2011 (MANILA TIMES) Written by : James Konstantin Galvez
and Jomar Canlas REPORTERS
[This file photo shows farm workers struggling to scamper for
safety during the November 16, 2004 Hacienda Luisita massacre. FILE PHOTO BY RENE DILA]
THE supreme Court (SC) may have spoken, but it will take time for the
government to distribute the almost 5,000 hectares of Hacienda Luisita to farm
worker-beneficiaries (FWBs), agriculture officials said on Thursday.
According to Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes of the Department of Agrarian
Reform (DAR), his agency is ready to implement the SC ruling once it becomes
final and executory, although they will need at least six months to complete the
distribution of land to the 6,296 beneficiaries.
"We have been studying how we will implement the land distribution to farmers
and their families. Once the ruling is final and executory, we can immediately
distribute the lands," de los Reyes said.
He added that the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) was also preparing the
necessary documents for the valuation of the land and for the payment of
compensation to farmers.
The High Court on Wednesday unanimously ordered the distribution of Hacienda
Luisita, a sugar estate owned by the family of President Benigno Aquino 3rd. It
also ordered the Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) management to pay FWBs P1.3
billion—P500 million for the sale of 200 hectares of land in 1996, P750 million
for the sale of the Luisita Industrial Park and another P80 million for the sale
of the 80-hectare lot for the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) road
network.
"Based on our studies, those who will be given land would include only those
in the original list made [in] 1989," the DAR chief said.
The High Tribunal decision sets aside its earlier ruling giving farmers two
options—get their share of land or shares of stock.
The stock distribution plan has been in place since 1989, when HLI forged an
agreement with thousands of farmers to get stocks instead of land.
Various organizations launched a nationwide political campaign, dubbed
"Luisita Watch", to make sure that the SC decision to distribute the land was
implemented.
The groups, led by the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA)—the
parent federation of Luisita-based groups United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU)
and Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala)—said that the
move aimed to frustrate whatever legal maneuvers and sinister agenda the
Cojuangco-Aquino clan had in mind to spoil the decision.
"Generations of farm workers in Hacienda Luisita struggled hard for the free
distribution of the sugar estate immorally and illegally acquired by the family
of President Benigno Simeon Aquino 3rd. Since 1957, the vast hectares of sugar
lands was a silent witness to the red carpet exploitation of farm workers inside
the Cojuangco-Aquino estate," UMA Secretary General Rodel Mesa said.
"It is high time to free the farmers and the land from the feudal aristocracy
and slavery of the Cojuangco-Aquino camp. The 'Luisita Watch' campaign is just
the beginning of another episode in the continuing fight for free land
distribution and social justice," he added.
Malacañang officials, meanwhile, said that the government would also comply
with the SC ruling once it became final.
President Aquino—who had owned one percent of the total Hacienda Luisita
shares before divesting himself of it upon taking office in June 2010—has yet to
see a copy of the decision, according to Palace spokesman Edwin Lacierda.
"It is a decision that once rendered final and executory, they will comply,"
Lacierda told a press briefing.
Chief Justice Renato Corona said on Tuesday that the justices voted in favor
of the best interest of the farmers, adding that 14 magistrates took part in the
deliberations. Senior Associate Jus tice Antonio Carpio did not participate in
the voting.
According to the 56-page resolution, which was promulgated also on Thursday
and penned by Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco, agricultural lands must
always be in the control of land tillers.
Farm workers who opted to get stocks are not protected by the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Law, the High Court said.
"In line with our finding that control over agricultural lands must always be
in the hands of the farmers, we consider our ruling that qualified FWBs should
be given an option to remain as stockholders of HLI, inasmuch as these qualified
FWBs will never gain control given the present proportion of shareholdings,"it
added.
The High Tribunal also said that HLI would be paid just compensation for the
transfer of agricultural lots to farm workers.
The SC ordered the DAR to submit a compliance report to the High Court within
six months.
Late, but welcome Jobert Ilarde Pahilga of SENTRA said that though the SC
decision was overdue, it was still a welcome development.
"The decision of SC favoring the farm workers does not yet connote the end of
their struggle. There are still other matters that need to be resolved by DAR,
which will implement the decision. And the Cojuangco-Aquino family can still
file a motion for reconsideration. We do not know how the Supreme Court will
decide given its history of always changing its decision," Pahilga added.
HACIENDA LUISITA TO RESPECT SC RULING
ON LAND DISTRIBUTION PHILIPPINE
STAR
By Rhodina
Villanueva and Aurea Calica - The management of Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) is
ready to implement a Supreme Court (SC) order on the distribution of land to
more than 6,000 farmers, a lawyer for the estate owned by the Cojuangco-Aquino
family said yesterday.
"We have no aversion to land distribution. We will be ready to cooperate as
to the implementation of the order. The Cojuangco-Aquino family is ready for
that. But then if we see something questionable, we will have to question it,"
lawyer Antonio Ligon said in an interview. He said they have yet to receive a
copy of the order.
He also said 4,000 more farmers should benefit from the ruling aside from the
original 6,296 beneficiaries cited in the SC decision.
"Apart from the 6,000-plus beneficiaries, the 4,000 farmer workers should
also be considered – who are mostly relatives of those in the original list who
also helped and worked in the sugar estate," he said.
In all, more than 10,000 farm workers should be entitled to parcels of
hacienda land, he said.
The SC has junked a stock option deal for Hacienda Luisita and ordered HLI to
distribute close to 5,000 hectares of land directly to 6,296 farmers in
accordance with the 2005 order of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council
(PARC).
Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes said his department is also
ready to implement the ruling as soon as it becomes final and executory.
He said HLI might file a motion for reconsideration with the SC.
He added they are now checking the identities of the beneficiaries, based on
their 1989 list. "If anyone of them availed of the Stock Distribution Option,
they would just have to surrender the certificate of stocks to the corporation,"
he said.
De los Reyes also said the farmer-beneficiaries are not allowed to sell the
land awarded to them within 10 years from the date of awarding. "They should be
the ones to cultivate the land or they can get helpers."
He also clarified that the farmers will have to pay for the land, based on
acceptable terms. "It will be something acceptable to the farmers, under a
set-up where the period of payment is agreeable to them," he added.
Palace out
At Malacañang, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the SC decision
should not cause further animosity between the executive and the judiciary even
if it came a few days after the Justice department's disregard of a temporary
restraining order on the travel ban on Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
"We also don't know the meat of the decision. All we know is the ruling – the
voting that went on. But as to the ruling itself: are there areas, are there
contents there in the decision that would merit a reconsideration from the other
side? We don't know yet that's why we are deferring comment on that," Lacierda
said.
Asked if the President would help his family or if the Cojuangcos would make
an attempt to reverse the decision, Lacierda said he would not know. He said the
President divested his stake in Hacienda Luisita before the campaign and that it
was only "less than one percent."
"It was an issue in the campaign. In fact, they tried to use it against him.
But, again, before I make any comment, let me just say that we'll defer on the
decision. We would like to meet with the President first and get his sense on
the decision," he said.
"If it becomes a final decision and there's no motion for reconsideration
further filed by the other parties, whatever will be the final and executory
decision, the government through the secretary of agrarian reform will be
implementing the decision," Lacierda pointed out.
Lacierda said some people were putting political color on the issue but
stressed "we are not in a position to speculate."
"I don't know what the substance of the decision was; what part of the estate
was included in the decision, so we don't know," Lacierda said.
Lacierda added they were not familiar with the operations in the HLI estates
"so I am not in the position to comment on the operations as well as the
financial position, viability of Hacienda Luisita."
"Once the decision has been rendered final and executory—we don't know when
it will be, we don't know what actions the other party will take," he said.
Lacierda said the issue is unlikely to put the President in a compromising
situation even if his family is directly involved.
The President "has already divested from Hacienda Luisita so there's nothing
to compromise or he won't be placed in a compromising situation."
"This is not going to be an issue between the Supreme Court and the
President," Lacierda said.
Asked why the Palace did not voice appreciation for a court decision that was
clearly beneficial to farmers, Lacierda said "our limitation right now is that
we don't know yet the substance of the decision."
"That's our only limitation… and hence the reason why we cannot make any
comment. We need to see the substance of the decision first before we make any
comment on that point," he said.
Appeal to P-Noy
Meanwhile, the chairman of the House committee on agrarian reform urged the
Aquino family to immediately comply with the SC ruling.
Negros Oriental Rep. Henry Pryde Teves said the government is expected to
finish giving out notices of coverage to land owners before the middle of next
year, and if the Aquino family would immediately comply with the ruling, there
would be much less resistance from land owners to distribute their holdings to
tenants.
"If they (land owners) would see them (Aquino family) resisting the Supreme
Court ruling, then they would likely do so too as all the notices of coverage
would be given out by April or May at the latest," Teves told The STAR.
He said there are still about 1.1 million hectares of land to be distributed
under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER)
Law.
Teves said also to be closely watched is how much compensation the Aquino
family would seek from the government. He said while there is a formula for
that, there is still much room to allow the Aquinos to secure a bigger amount.
"That (compensation) could be the benchmark or standard for compensation of
others (landowners)," he said, adding that there are special agrarian reform
courts where amounts of compensation could be tackled.
House Minority Leader and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, the principal author of
the CARPER Law, hailed the SC for its ruling, saying "finally, the marginalized
farmers won over the sugar barons."
"Today, the SC has upheld the right of wretched farmer to own the land he
tills in Hacienda Luisita while days ago, the High Court upheld the right to
travel of a member of the landed gentry, the former President (Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo)," Lagman said.
"Truly, the SC is a tribunal for all men and for all season; the constant
protector of the Constitution, the impregnable bastion of the supremacy of rule
of the law," he said.
Ang Kasangga party-list Rep. Teodorico Haresco, however, warned the SC ruling
on Hacienda Luisita does not bode well for the country's sugar industry.
"Sugar is a capital intensive crop requiring heavy equipment, fertilizers,
irrigation, most importantly the technical know-how and management skills
exacted by current challenges of global price fluctuations and climate change,"
Haresco said.
"Given Filipinos' penchant to create associations, the cooperatives which
purport to take over will follow historical patterns of breaking up within five
years, resulting in disputes in the variations of contributions of the manual
worker. The SC decision, while following the spirit of the CARPER Law, should be
reconsidered," he said.
Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara and Citizens' Battle Against Corruption
party-list Rep. Sherwin Tugna in separate statements said the voting of the
justices only showed there was no politics in the decision. With Paolo Romero
Unanimous ruling affirms farmers' right to own land
By Edu Punay (The Philippine Star) Updated November 25, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - In unanimously ruling against a stock option
deal for Hacienda Luisita, Supreme Court (SC) magistrates have cited the
indisputable right of farmers to own the land they till.
In its decision, a copy of which was obtained by The STAR on Wednesday, the
SC has given its go signal to the distribution of close to 5,000 hectares of
land directly to 6,296 farmers in accordance with the 2005 order of the
Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC).
But Chief Justice Renato Corona dissented from the majority opinion
dismissing a constitutional issue as moot.
He explained that Section 31 of Republic Act 6657 or the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 allows stock distribution option, which is a
violation of the Constitution.
"Agrarian reform's underlying principle is the recognition of the rights of
farmers and farmworkers who are landless to own, directly or collectively, the
lands they till. Under the Constitution, actual land distribution to qualified
agrarian reform beneficiaries is mandatory. Anything that promises something
other than land must be struck down for being unconstitutional," Corona
stressed.
"The requirement of lis mota (doctrine of mootness) does not apply where the
question of constitutionality was raised by the parties and addressing such
question is unavoidable. It cannot be disputed that the parties-in-interest to
this case presented the question of constitutionality," he said.
In supporting land distribution, Corona cited "public interest of agrarian
reform" as well as "historical significance of agriculture in Philippine society
and economy."
"Our constitutional history and tradition show that agrarian reform has
always been a pillar of social justice. The records of the Constitutional
Commission show that Hacienda Luisita has always been viewed as an acid test of
genuine agrarian reform," he added.
Not ruling on the constitutional issue was "to ignore a violation of the
Constitution and to disregard the trampling of basic rights and constitutional
values," he said.
Corona also said the price of the land to be distributed to the original
Luisita beneficiaries should be based on the fair market value of the land as of
November 1989.
But Justice Lucas Bersamin, in a separate concurring and dissenting opinion,
said the determination of the reference date should be left to the Department of
Agriculture and Land Bank pursuant to section 18 of RA 6657.
He also expressed belief that Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) should be
compensated for the home lots granted to the farmers, which are not part of the
farmlands approved for distribution.
"If my impression is correct, I fear that the result will be unfair should
the landowner not be justly compensated for the value of the homelots. In such a
situation, the taking will be confiscatory and unconstitutional. I submit,
therefore, that HLI as the landowner should be justly compensated also for the
home lots," Bersamin added.
Justices Bienvenido Reyes and Estela Perlas- Bernabe, President Aquino's
recent appointees to the SC, agreed with him.
Justice Arturo Brion, for his part, said there should be restitution and that
parties involved should "account and restore what they received from one
another" with the voiding of the SDO.
In the ruling reported by The STAR yesterday, the magistrates – except Senior
Associate Justice Antonio Carpio who again inhibited in the deliberations –
voted for total land distribution.
The high court also denied the partial motion for reconsideration of HLI and
instead directed it to pay the original beneficiaries over P1.33 billion earned
from selling the 500-hectare converted portion of the land estate.
Appealable
SC spokesman Midas Marquez said the new ruling may still be appealed.
"Considering that we now have a new decision, a motion for reconsideration
may still be filed thereon," he explained.
A group of farmers and their militant supporters, meanwhile, gathered outside
the SC building in Manila to express their gratitude for the "triumph of
justice."
The Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA), the mother federation of
Ambala, and United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU) lauded the decision and even
launched a nationwide political campaign "Luisita Watch" to make sure the
decision of the high tribunal would be implemented.
"Generations of farm workers in Hacienda Luisita struggled hard for the free
distribution of the sugar estate immorally and illegally acquired by the family
of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III. Since 1957, the vast hectares of sugar
lands were a silent witness to the red carpet exploitation of farm workers
inside the Cojuangco-Aquino estate. It is high time to free the farmers and the
land from the feudal aristocracy and slavery of the Cojuangco-Aquino camp," an
UMA statement said.
"The Luisita Watch campaign is the just the beginning of another episode in
the continuing fight for free land distribution and social justice," the
statement read.
"He should not dilly-dally and instead order the DAR to start the actual
distribution of the lands to the farm workers," Ambala's lawyer Jobert Pahilga
said.
"President Aquino should know that the actual land distribution of Hacienda
Luisita to the farm workers and the payment of P1.3 billion to them are morally
and legally right, just," he said.
Happy and wary
In San Fernando, Pampanga, farmers and workers unions in Hacienda Luisita
said they were "happy and wary" with the SC decision and expressed fears their
victory might be "frustrated by legal maneuvers" of the Cojuangco-Aquino
families.
"What we'll do now is to scrutinize the decision of the High Court and see
how we will proceed with the land distribution," said Lito Bais, United Luisita
Workers' Union president.
"We cannot relax. There are still things that should be of concern. The
Cojuangcos can still appeal to the Court for reconsideration," he said.
Former Akbayan party-list representative Risa Hontiveros called the SC
decision "a great victory not only for the beneficiaries but also for every
Filipino farmer."
"Now it is crystal clear, land distribution is the sole, genuine avenue of
agrarian reform. Likewise, this decision affirms the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program-Extension with Reforms (CARPER) – farmers must own the lands they
till and it is the onus of government to guarantee it," she said.
"We celebrate with joy the decision of the SC calling for the distribution of
Hacienda Luisita to the farmers… It is a long awaited decision and a step
forward for the SC to regain its credibility in proving that it can stand for
truth and justice," CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and
Peace (Nassa) executive secretary Fr. Edu Gariguez said.
"We just hope and pray that the SC will be consistent in rendering judgment
not for any political exigencies but to safeguard the interest of justice,"
Gariguez said. With Rhodina Villanueva, Evelyn Macairan,
Ding Cervantes
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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