Cojuangcos vow cooperation in Luisita distribution

MANILA, Philippines - The family of President Aquino gave assurance it would abide by the Supreme Court (SC) ruling for the distribution of the 4,915.75-hectare Hacienda Luisita to tenant-farmers.

Antonio Ligon, lawyer for Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI), said yesterday the representatives of the Cojuangco and Aquino families agreed to honor the SC ruling during a recent meeting.               

“We will not challenge the ruling. No pleading will be filed as the HLI management respects the decision of the high court which was guided by their wisdom to come up with such an order,” Ligon said.

“We have always believed that the purpose of the law is ultimate justice and equal rule for everyone. The application of the law in this case is no exception. The majority of the justices have spoken. HLI will abide and will comply promptly with what is required by the decision,” Ligon added.

The SC ruling is a “verdict the Cojuangco family embraces and should be a glowing legacy for the late former President Corazon Aquino,” HLI said in a statement.

HLI noted that it was the late former leader who placed Luisita under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

“Although the preference of farmer-beneficiaries for stock distribution option prevailed in at least three referendums over land distribution, the high court now maintains that land distribution is the only resolution. The Cojuangco family guarantees its full cooperation in the expeditious completion of this process and put all other issues to rest,” HLI said.

HLI likewise assured the public they would fully cooperate with the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) on the issue of just compensation, saying they share the hope of tenant-farmers for the “expeditious completion of the process.”

Ligon said the land valuation, which was based on the real estate value in 1989, was raised during the meeting.

“The HLI is not imposing a specific amount. But we think it is proper to have the valuation based on the 2006 real estate rate since that was the time that a notice of coverage for Luisita under CARP was issued,” he said.

Ligon, however, said land valuation is just one of the issues to be considered in the formulation of just compensation.

He said the DAR should also look into land productivity, among other things.

Malacañang on Wednesday said DAR would review the valuation for the property.

HLI is reportedly asking between P5 billion to P10 billion, which was based on the value of the land in 2006. 

But Ligon denied HLI is pushing for a P5-billion compensation, saying only DAR and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) could come up with the exact figure.

He said the value of the estate would fetch P2.5 million per hectare if based on “comparable sales” such as those transacted by HLI with subsidiaries Luisita Realty Corp. and Centenary Holdings Inc. in 1997 and 1998.  

DAR to distribute lands

The DAR, for its part, said it is ready to distribute lands to Luisita farmers.               

“We will do it (distribution) immediately. Again, we just have to conduct ocular inspection of the subject landholding and valuation afterwards,” Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes said.

“Although the landowners can question the valuation with the DAR Adjudication Board and the Special Agrarian Court and higher courts on this matter, such a challenge will not stop the acquisition and distribution process and the eventual issuance of Certificates of Land Ownership Award to beneficiaries,” he said.

He said the LBP will determine the initial valuation for the estate in consideration of the conditions set by the SC and existing applicable guidelines.              

“We will be extending intensified support services in the area so that land distribution can be accomplished,” the DAR chief said.              

But he said DAR has yet to receive a copy of the SC decision. 

‘DAR cannot review Luisita valuation’

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said DAR could not review the valuation for the property.

“The ruling of the Supreme Court is final and absolute, and no executive or administrative agency can make a revaluation of the property very long due to the farmer-beneficiaries, so the sugar barons must comply,” Lagman told The STAR.  

“The validity of the SC ruling cannot be questioned, its valuation is based on social justice pricing,” he said.

He said the decision also upheld the constitutional mandate that land, not shares of stock, be distributed to the farmers.

House Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, meanwhile, warned that implementing the SC ruling is easier said than done.  

“Who are the rightful beneficiaries? The HLI has been acknowledging organizations and farmer-beneficiaries but I’m sure there are other lists held by other tenant groups that may not be recognized by HLI, so how do you resolve that?” Suarez told The STAR. 

He said HLI and some of its subsidiaries have also incurred huge debts and the question of who will shoulder those obligations has not been answered. He also cited reports that the Cojuangco-Aquino family had mortgaged portions of Luisita. 

Expedite distribution

Luisita tenant-farmers who are members of the Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita and Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura, for their part, called on the DAR to expedite the land distribution process.

“The farm workers cannot wait for six to 12 months before the lands can be distributed because they have mouths to feed,” the farmers’ groups said in a statement.

“There should be no letup, the farm workers should continue to demand a quick phase of transfer of ownership and push DAR to curb its expected timeframe for Hacienda Luisita’s actual land distribution,” they said.

The tenant-farmers said they would set a dialogue with DAR on the issue. 

Make Luisita a first-class farming community

Former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo urged the tenant-farmers to make the sugar plantation a first-class farming community.  

“It is time that the distribution of 4,913 hectares of land to 6,296 farmworker-beneficiaries be utilized to showcase a model farming community in the replication of a planned, balanced, self-reliant agricultural development of the country,” he said.

He said he has no doubt that the tenant-tillers would make the land productive for all its occupants.

“The farmers’ fighting will and unity has already been shown in the productive occupation and collective farming of some 2,000 hectares even before the Supreme Court’s decision. They are fully capable of charting their own lives and future, with or without the Aquino government’s support,” he said.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture, said land distribution is just the first step towards social justice for the farmers of Hacienda Luisita.

“The bigger challenge now would be to make sure that the farms become viable, profitable, and sustainable for the farmers and their families,” Pangilinan said.

“As a high-profile agrarian reform community, Hacienda Luisita can be the model for how true agrarian reform ought to be carried out in our countryside. But all stakeholders will have to work together to ensure that this does not become just another lost cause,” Pangilinan added.

He said land distribution, if not supported by other critical services, would “simply be redistributing poverty, turning an organized enterprise into a disorganized community of impoverished farmers.”

Citing data culled by the committee on agriculture, Pangilinan noted that only one-third of agrarian reform communities have been successful.

“Others have sold their land or have remained unable to transform their lands into profitable farms,” he said.

The senator cited news reports that some Luisita farmers have already been talking to interested buyers of their farms. – With Edu Punay, Paolo Romero, Jess Diaz, Marvin Sy