Luisita farmers want DAR execs cited for contempt

MANILA, Philippines - Farmers of Hacienda Luisita asked the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday to hold the officials of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in contempt for allegedly planning to distribute land short of what the high tribunal has ordered.

The farmers’ move was also aimed to belie the claims of President Aquino in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) that all is well in the land distribution process in the sugar estate.

Farmers belonging to the Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (AMBALA), through lawyer Jobert Pahilga, denounced DAR’s alleged plan to distribute only 4,099 of the 4,915 hectares as ordered by the SC.

“Even if one deducts 580.51 hectares sold to RCBC, Centenary Holdings and SCTEX, this is still 236 hectares short of what should be distributed to the farmers,” said Florida Sibayan, acting chairman of AMBALA.

Sibayan said they asked the SC to require DAR to explain the so-called common areas, which the agency said were 468.49 hectares on July 16. But DAR reduced the figure to 400.87 hectares the next day.

The farmers asked why these common areas should be removed from the 4,915 hectares even if these were already in existence when the SC ruling came out.

AMBALA also wanted to know why only 5,149 hectares of land appeared on the result of a survey conducted by the DAR, when the whole hacienda is 6,435 hectares.

“We also want that they provide us a copy of the recent survey and the one made in 1989 to compare both surveys,” Sibayan said, adding that AMBALA should be given the right to validate the survey through an independent firm.

“Clearly P-Noy failed to mention this in his SONA when he said that ‘If there is a favorite topic I’d like my family name to be identified with, it is the Hacienda Luisita.’”

AMBALA also decried the way DAR distributed the Lot Allocation Certificates (LAC ) in Barangay Cutcut last July 19.

“This was carried out through lottery wherein DAR could have intentionally ignored a number of the farmers who already tilled and developed the land since 2005. DAR also does not allow collective ownership of the land through the lottery, and even deployed 200 police personnel, including SWAT during the activity,” Sibayan said.