Luisita farmers ask SC to scrap mediation

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Posted on 14 Sep 2010 at 4:41pm |

MANILA, Philippines – Farmers from Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac urged the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday to

dissolve a mediation panel it had created to settle the controversial dispute over the vast sugar estate owned by the

Cojuangco family, to which President Benigno Aquino III belongs.

At a forum sponsored by the Anakpawis party-list, members of the United Luisita Workers Union claimed the

mediation panel was being used by the Cojuangcos to retain control of the 6,000-hectare sugar plantation through a

stock distribution option (SDO) instead of parceling out the land to agrarian reform beneficiaries.

The mediation panel, composed of retired justices, was formed by the high court on September 2 in an attempt to

forge a settlement between Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI), which has filed a petition stopping the estate’s distribution,

and farmers’ groups who want to own land.

Last month, before oral arguments scheduled by the SC, HLI claimed it had reached a compromise agreement with

the majority of the Luisita farmers who, it claimed, agreed to the SDO. However, groups opposed to the SDO

dismissed the compromise as a sham.

Recently, the mediation panel proposed that another referendum be held to determine the wishes of the majority of

the farmers.

However, Leoning Halili, an ULWU member, said “conducting a referendum in Hacienda Luisita is beyond the powers

and authority of the mediation panel” to order.

Anakapawis Representative Rafael Mariano also questioned the referendum, calling it “direct affront to Luisita farm

workers who are waging a life and death struggle to own the lands.”

House Minority leader and Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, one of the authors of the Comprehensive Agrarian

Reform Law with Extension and Reforms, admitted the measure was watered down because the provision allowing

stock distribution option instead of land distribution had not been removed.

Ironically, although it was under the late former president Corazon Aquino that the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform

Law was enacted on June 10, 1988, Hacienda Luisita evaded distribution by implementing the SDO.

In 2005, the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council revoked the SDO for being contrary to law and public policy and

ordered the estate distributed to beneficiaries.

“It is obvious that the Cojuangco-Aquinos are using the mediation proceedings as a vehicle to retain their control over

Hacienda Luisita. The President’s family is desperate in getting the blessings of the Supreme Court to give a

semblance of legality for the SDO,” Mariano said.

ABOUT US

Department of Agrarian Reform is the lead implementing agency of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
(CARP). It undertakes land tenure improvement and development of program beneficiaries. DAR conducts land
survey in resettlement areas. It undertakes land acquisition and distribution and land management studies. The DAR
also orchestrates the delivery of support services to
farmer-beneficiaries and promotes the development of viable agrarian reform communities.

The DAR logo shows the Department acronym representing the institution and its role as the lead agency in the
implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). The sun radiates its light into the field of
green divided into 12 segments representing the original 12 regions covered by the program. Green stands for
fertility and productivity while yellow represents hope and a golden harvest for agrarian reform beneficiaries who are
the recipients of the services provided by the Department via CARP. Both colors imply that economic growth and
sound rural development can be achieved through agrarian reform

PROGRAMS

Land Tenure Improvement (LTI)

The LTI component seeks to secure the tenurial status of the farmers and farmworkers in the lands they till. This is
operationalized either through land acquisition and distribution and leasehold operations. LAD involves the
redistribution of government and private agricultural lands to landless farmers and farmworkers. Leasehold operation,
on the other hand, is an alternative non-land transfer scheme which seeks to improve the quality of life of the farmers.
It covers all tenanted agricultural lands such those in the retained areas, not yet acquired for distribution under CARP,
and those wihich may be validly covered under existing laws.

Land to the tiller is the essence of land reform. Land distribution secures
farmers' tenure, promotes social equity, and provides them with necessary productive resources needed to ensure
their economic viability and productivity.

From 1972 to December 2008, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) covered 4,106,528 hectares of agricultural
lands or 80 percent of its total program scope of 5,163,751 hectares. This made some 2.39 million farmers owners of
land titles through emancipation patents and certificates of land ownership awards.

The DAR also implements leasehold program to secure the tenure of farmers' in landowners retained areas and
CARP covered properties that are not yet distributed.
Since 1964 a total of 1,686,045 hectares were placed under leasehold arrangement benefiting 1,190,913 farmers.
 Programs Beneficiaries Development (PBD)

PBD is the support services component of CARP. It aims to capacitate ARBs and provide them
access to the necessary support services to make their lands more productive, enable them to venture in
income generating livelihood projects and actively participate in community governance.
Agrarian reform does not rely on land distribution alone, but also on the delivery of support services,
including farm-to-market roads, bridges, irrigation, post harvest facilities, rural electrification, potable water
supply, school buildings, multi purpose buildings; extension services, credit assistance, and trainings.

• 709,187 ARBs fully served under the foreign-assisted projects

• 7,170 infrastructure projects

• 976 communal irrigation projects completed

• 3018 functional ARB-organizations operate (ALDA Level 3,4,5)

• 316,610 ARB members are already managing their own farm & non-farm enterprises

Support services delivered through the Foreign Assisted Projects (FAPs) and Agrarian Reform Fund (ARF):

• 13,259 kilometers of FMR

• 226,015 hectares serviced by irrigation systems

• 194 multi-purpose buildings

• 174 bridge projects (10,473 linear meters)

• 428 units of post harvest facilities

• 999 units of potable water systems

Other infrastructure projects provided:

• Health centers, school buildings, flood control, rural electrification,& sanitation systems.

Non-infrastructure programs include:

• Demonstration farms, rural micro-enterprises, training of ARB leaders, & health and nutrition
Since then, the DAR has launched 2,100 ARCs covering 1.2 million of ARBs in 9,076 barangays. Because of the size
limitation of ARCs and the increasing number of ARBs in need of basic support services, the DAR expanded the
coverage of its support services through the KALAHI (Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan) Agrarian Reform Zones
(KARZones). A KARZone is a contiguous area which embraces both ARC barangays and non-ARC barangays within
the zone.

Agrarian Justice Delivery (AJD)

Delivery of agrarian justice has two features: the agrarian legal assistance and adjudication of cases. Agrarian legal
assistance is comprised of resolution of agrarian law implimentation (ALI) cases, ARB representation before judicial
and quasi-judicial bodies, and mediation and conciliation. On the other hand, Adjudication of cases involves the
resolution of cases by the DAR Adjudication Board (DARAB) and any of its salas.

Under RA 6657, the DAR is vested with the primary jurisdiction to determine and adjudicate agrarian reform matters
and to extend free legal assistance to farmer-beneficiaries affected by agrarian cases.

There are three types of cases under this program namely: judicial or court cases, quasi-judicial, and cases related to
agrarian law implementation (ALI). The first two types involve representation of farmers by DAR lawyers before the
regular courts and DAR Adjudication Board, respectively. The third type involves the administrative rendering of
decision on exemption, conversion and retention.
The DAR at present utilizes more aggressive alternative dispute resolution techniques in mediation to reduce conflicts
maturing into court cases. The general objective is to persuade the contending parties to settle their disputes
amicably or out of court before the DAR

AGRARIAN JUSTICE
Policy Issuances

Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is the lead implementing agency of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
(CARP). It undertakes land tenure improvement and development of program beneficiaries. DAR conducts land
survey in resettlement areas. It undertakes land acquisition and distribution and land management studies. The DAR
also orchestrates the delivery of support services to farmer-beneficiaries and promotes the development of viable
agrarian reform communities.

Click on the following options and see the list of policy issuances related to Department of Agrarian Reform and the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
Republic Acts (RA)
Republic Act No. 9700
An Act Strengthening the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), Extending the Acquisition and
Distribution of All Agrcultural Lands Instituting Necessary Reforms Amending for the Purpose Certain Provisions of
Republic Act No. 6657, Otherwise Known as Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988, As Amended, And
Appropriating Funds Therefore
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Republic Act No. 8532

Increasing the Agrarian Reform Act
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Republic Act No. 8435

Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act
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Republic Act No. 7905

An Act to Strengthen the Implementation of the comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, and for Other Purposes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Republic Act No. 6389

An Act Amending Republic Act Numbered Thirty-Eight Hundred And Forty-Four, As Amended, Otherwise Known As
The Agricultural Land Reform Code, And For Other Purposes.
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Republic Act No. 6390

An Act To Accelerate The Implementation Of The Agrarian Reform Program By Creating An Agrarian Reform Special
Account In The General Fund, Providing The Necessary Funds Therefor, And For Other Purposes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Republic Act No. 3844

An Act To Ordain The Agricultural Land Reform Code and To Institute Land Reforms In The Philippines, Including
The Abolition of Tenancy and The Channeling of Capital Into Industry, Provide For The Necessary Implementing
Agencies, Appropriate Funds Therefor and For Other Purposes.
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Republic Act No. 55

An act to Impose a War Profits Tax
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Republic Act No. 34

An act amending certain sections of Act Numbered Four Thousand Fifty-Four, as amended, otherwise known as "The
Philippine Rice Share Tenancy Act"
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Republic Act No. 6657

Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law
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Republic Act No. 7881

An Act amending Certain Provisions of Republic Act No. 6657, entitled " An Act Instituting a Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program to Promote Social Justice and Industrialization, Providing the Mechanism for its Implementation, and
for Other Purposes.
Executive Order (EO)

Executive Order No. 407

Accelerating the Acquisition and Distribution of Agricultural Lands, Pasture Lands, Fishponds, Agro-Forestry Lands
and Other Lands of the Public Domain Suitable For Agriculture
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Executive Order No. 405

Vesting in the Land Bank of the Philippines the Primary Responsibility To Determine the Land Valuation and
Compensation For All Lands Covered Under Republic Act No. 6657, Known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Law of 1988
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Executive Order No. 129-A

Modifying Order No. 129 Reorganizing and Strengthening the Department of Agrarian Reform and For Other
Purposes
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Executive Order No. 229

Providing the Mechanisms For the Implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
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Executive Order No. 228

Declaring Full Land Ownership To Qualified Farmer Beneficiaries Covered By Presidential Decree No. 27:
Determining the Value of Remaining Unvalued Rice and Corn Lands Subject To P.D. No. 27; and Providing For the
Manner of Payment By the Farmer Beneficiary and Mode of Compensation To the Landowner

LINK: http://www.dar.gov.ph/aboutus_intro.html <<<<<---------------------tgnan

nlng jan ung administrative order atbp..hahaha.dme kse

Services (http://www.dar.gov.ph/services.html)

Department of Agrarian Reform is the lead implementing agency of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
(CARP). It undertakes land tenure improvement and development of program beneficiaries. DAR conducts land
survey in resettlement areas. It undertakes land acquisition and distribution and land management studies. The DAR
also orchestrates the delivery of support services to farmer-beneficiaries and promotes the development of viable
agrarian reform communities.

Land Tenure Improvement (LTI)

• Land Titling
• Leasehold Contracting
• Land Survey
• Voluntary Offer to Sell

Program Beneficiaries Development (PBD)

• Trainings
Agrarian Justice Delivery (AJD)

• Free Legal Assitance

• Legal Information and Counselling