Luisita farmers to appeal for speedy land distribution

MANILA, Philippines - Farmers from Hacienda Luisita are set to ask the Supreme Court (SC) to order the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to speed up distribution of the Cojuangco-owned estate to beneficiaries of the comprehensive agrarian reform law.

The move of the Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala) and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) was in response to a DAR petition seeking to modify the arrangement for the selection of the firm that will audit the Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) and to transfer the audit process to another government agency or to a third party.

Jobert Pahilga, counsel for Ambala, said the DAR is raising trivial and inconsequential matters with regard to the auditing process, as he noted that the valuation on the landholdings is too high.

“It is almost P70,000 per hectare from the original valuation of P40,000 in 1989. The number of beneficiaries seemed bloated. And more importantly, it is more than a year that the decision was rendered by the SC, yet the lands have not been awarded to the farmers,” Pahilga said.

The farmers’ groups said they would ask the SC to dismiss DAR’s petition.

They want the agency to engage the services of Ocampo, Mendoza, Leong, Lim & Co. in auditing the HLI and Centenary Holdings.

“The DAR did not approve the farmers’ choice of auditing firm, as it noted HLI’s objection. The agency filed a petition for clarification before the Supreme Court,” KMP and Ambala said.

DAR has named HLI, Ambala, Farmers for Agrarian Reform, Inc. (FARM) and the Noel Mallari and Supervisory Group of HLI to do the auditing.

But the farmers said HLI, as the party to be audited, has no right to choose the firm that would audit its books.

The farmers’ groups criticized DAR for repeatedly announcing that the lands to be distributed would be less than what the SC has ruled.

“And with regard to the valuation process, it publicly stated that the Land Bank of the Philippines has its own calculating formula,” Pahilga said.

The Luisita farmers will also ask the high court to require DAR to explain the discrepancy in the number of hectares valued by the Land Bank and the total number of hectares due for distribution.

They said the SC order involved 4,335 hectares to be distributed to the farmers, but based on the valuation made by the Land Bank, only 3,396 hectares are due for distribution.

Meanwhile, the heirs of deceased landowners can now claim compensation for properties covered by the land reform program without having to shell out money to pay the taxes and other related fees, DAR announced yesterday.

Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes said the claimants should take advantage of this opportunity, noting that he and Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima signed the Joint Administrative Order No. 1, which provides that unpaid taxes and other fees will be just deducted from the landowner’s compensation. – With Ding Cervantes