SC invalidates stock option deal in Luisita

MANILA, Philippines -  The Supreme Court (SC) upheld yesterday the revocation of a 1989 stock distribution plan for Hacienda Luisita’s more than 6,000 farmers and called for the holding of a referendum to determine whether they would opt for land or shares of stocks.

Voting 6-4, the justices junked a petition filed by Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) in February 2006 and affirmed with modification an order of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) in December 2005 that allowed the distribution of 4,915.75 hectares to a total of 6,296 original farmer-beneficiaries.

Malacañang, meanwhile, said it has yet to receive a copy of the SC decision and stressed that President Aquino had already divested his HLI shares as shown in his statement of assets and liabilities and net worth.

The SC, in its decision, also lifted the temporary restraining order on PARC’s ruling issued by retired Associate Justice Leonardo Quisumbing in June 2006. One of the grounds cited by the court is the “failure of HLI to comply with its obligations with the farmer-beneficiaries.”

The ruling penned by Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. ordered the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to make the farmers choose in a referendum between a piece of land or 18,804.32 HLI shares. In case the HLI shares already in a beneficiary’s possession is less than 18,804.32 shares, the HLI is compelled to issue additional shares to complete the prescribed number of shares at no cost to the beneficiary within 30 days from finality of the SC decision.

Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo de Castro, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano del Castillo, Jose Perez, and Roberto Abad concurred in the ruling.

Associate Justices Arturo Brion, Martin Villarama Jr., Jose Catral Mendoza, and Maria Lourdes Sereno dissented, saying the contested land should be placed under the coverage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and distributed directly to farmers.

In separate opinion during deliberation, Chief Justice Renato Corona said he is convinced that section 31 of RA 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 which allowed stock distribution was unconstitutional in the first place.

“The Chief Justice is of the position that land reform means giving of land, not stocks,” SC spokesman Midas Marquez said in a press conference.

Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio inhibited from the case while Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta was on official leave.

The SC began oral arguments on the case in August last year. It also created a mediation panel to end the dispute between HLI and its farmer-beneficiaries through amicable settlement. But the parties failed to reach an agreement after six meetings within the 30-day period prescribed by the court.

The panel chaired by retired SC Justice Alicia Austria-Martinez later opted to leave to the High Court the decision on whether or not to continue with the mediation, considering the refusal of a faction of farmers from the Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid ng Hacienda Luisita (AMBALA) to participate in the proceedings.

Also last year, HLI and another faction of farmers signed a new compromise agreement giving the farmers the chance to remain as HLI stockholders or receive land.

Many voted to retain their stocks and receive cash from HLI, only to complain later that they got minuscule amounts.

A faction of farmers’ groups, on the other hand, asked the SC to junk the compromise deal because it was signed even before the High Court could rule on the validity of the stock distribution option.

The rival faction also questioned the authority of the signatories in the agreement to represent the plantation’s farmer-beneficiaries.

Marquez stressed that last year’s compromise agreement was already superseded by the SC ruling, which requires a new referendum to be conducted by DAR.

He said DAR is also required to report its compliance six months after the finality of the SC decision. It should also provide quarterly compliance reports.

The HLI, meanwhile, can file a motion for reconsideration within 15 days after receiving a copy of the ruling.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said President Aquino’s holdings in Hacienda Luisita do not reflect anymore in his latest SALN. He said he had no knowledge if his sisters had also divested.

“As you know the President is no longer a shareholder and will refrain from commenting on the court decision for now,” said Secretary Ricky Carandang of the President’s Communications Group.

HLI spokesman Tony Ligon said they welcomed the SC ruling.

“We welcome it. We respect the decision of the High Court wherein the farm workers will just be made to choose between getting shares of stocks or acquiring parcels of land,” Ligon, who is also legal counsel for HLI, said.

Ligon clarified that the decision would only cover 6,296 farmer-beneficiaries in the sugar estate in Tarlac. “The remaining 4,206 farm workers who also claim to have rights over the land will remain as stockholders.”

“Our stand has been for the Luisita folks, for farm workers, to decide. And now that this is what the SC decided, we will respect it,” Ligon added.

“In effect, the SC is saying that if the farmers want to get land, they’ll get land. In our compromise agreement, it’s the same, but the coverage is different,” he said.

When sought for comment, former Tarlac congressman Jose “Peping” Cojuangco said he would wait for a copy of the SC order before issuing a statement. With Rhodina Villanueva