Philippines: No more legal stumbling blocks for land distribution of plantation
Philippines, April 26, 2012 - The Supreme Court ruling of April 24, for the land distribution of some 5000 hectares of land to more than 6,000 farm workers, finally puts an end to the decade-long land conflict in Hacienda Luisita, a 6000+ hectare plantation estate owned by the family of the current President Benigno Aquino.
“Now that there’s no more legal impediment for the distribution of Hacienda Luisita, the Department of Agrarian Reform should implement agrarian reform immediately,” said Danny Carranza, FIAN Philippines Case Unit Coordinator. “FIAN Philippines will – in close cooperation with farm workers and support groups – closely monitor this process.”
The land struggle in Hacienda Luisita has a long history. In 1989, the landowners of Hacienda Luisita implemented a stock distribution option (SDO), which gave corporate stocks in lieu of land titles to farm workers.
In December 2003, the farm workers petitioned to revoke the SDO. FIAN Philippines, together with local support groups, took up the farmworkers’ cause in 2010.
In November 2011, the Supreme Court ordered for the land redistribution of the entire hacienda to the farm workers, which the landowners appealed.
The most recent court decision upheld the November 2011 ruling and reaffirmed that just compensation will be given to the land owners based on the valuation of the land in 1989.
Farmworkers Agrarian Reform Movement in Hacienda Luisita (FARM- Luisita) members have already begun a farm development plan to cultivate the land.
“Since the real process of land redistribution will take some time, alternative livelihoods for workers and their families must be ensured in the meantime,” said Carranza.
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For more information, or to schedule an interview, please contact Danny Carranza, bondocpen_phil [at]yahoo.com