SC: Congress can include sugarlands in CARP

(Updated 8:32 PM) The Supreme Court on Friday upheld its earlier decision allowing Congress to include sugar lands — even those owned by the families of president-apparent Benigno Aquino III and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo — in the coverage of the Philippines’ agrarian reform law. Ruling as a whole, the High Court denied with finality an appeal filed by large sugar producers that sought to reverse its March 2007 ruling. In the earlier ruling, the court said that it was not within its ambit to look into the wisdom of the congressional move including sugar lands in the coverage of Republic Act 6657, also known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law. The same ruling also cited the independence of the three branches of government, making the High Court “devoid of authority to encroach" upon the actions of the Congress. In denying the appeal, the Supreme Court said that "no substantial arguments were presented to warrant the reversal of the questioned decision." Among the petitioners include the Confederation of Sugar Producers Association Inc. (CONFED), National Federation of Sugarcane Planters Inc., United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines Inc., Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers Inc., First Farmers Holding Corp., National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines and the League of Municipalities of the Philippines-Negros Occidental Chapter. The petitioners argued in their appeal that it was “unwise" and “impractical" for Congress to include sugar lands in the agrarian reform program, since it is more efficient and practical for sugar lands to be plantation-type and not “parcelized." However, the high court said the sugar companies’ arguments remained “unsupported by any evidence." “No trial court has had the opportunity to ascertain the validity of these factual claims, the appreciation of which is beyond the function of this court since it is not a trier of facts," it said. Among the largest sugar land estate in Luzon is Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac, which is owned by the Cojuangco side of Aquino’s family, is a member of CONFED. Various other sugarland properties owned by First Gentleman Mike Arroyo and his brother, Iggy, have reportedly remained undistributed. These include Hacienda Bacan and Hacienda Grande in Negros Occidental, a province considered as the final frontier of land distribution because landowners have actively resisted agrarian reform. RA 6657 was signed into law by the late president Corazon C. Aquino on June 10, 1988. - ACC, RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV