Luisita farmers’ groups urge SC to terminate mediation efforts

A faction of farmers from the Cojuangco-owned Hacienda Luisita, Inc. (HLI) in Tarlac on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to terminate the mediation proceedings it initiated aimed at striking a “win-win" solution to the 21-year-old land dispute. In a manifestation filed before the SC on Wednesday, farmers’ groups Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid ng Hacienda Luisita (AMBALA) and Sentro para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (SENTRA) also said the mediation panel the SC has created is unnecessary and might only serve to benefit the Hacienda owners. Moreover, they urged the SC to decide on the case questioning the validity of the stock distribution option (SDO) scheme, which the Hacienda management had crafted to avoid subjecting the estate to land reform. “The Supreme Court could already rule on the issue brought before it without resorting to mediation. It will also be a tool to do away with, and in effect would set aside, the decision to distribute the agricultural lands of Hacienda Luisita to the farm workers," the groups said. The SC formed a mediation panel after it heard last month oral arguments on the case to try to find a “win-win" land row between the plantation’s owners and workers. The oral arguments were held last month on the land dispute case that has been pending before the high court since 2006, when it restrained an earlier resolution by the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) subjecting the land under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). The farmers’ groups, through its lawyer Jobert Pahilga, argued that the SC could already decide on the case even without the mediation proceedings. “Even before the oral argument was called by the Supreme Court, the parties to the dispute have already submitted all the evidence and arguments on the case. Therefore, the case is already ripe for decision by the Supreme Court," the groups said. The groups also said the validity of the SDO could not be resolved by any mediation proceedings, and that the high court must prioritize resolving this issue before trying to talk to both parties. “There is no more need for mediation to come up with an agreement to resolve the issues in this case. The only thing that is left to be done is for the Honorable Court to decide the merits of the petition sans the mediation or the agreement that may probably be reached thereon," they said in their manifestation. AMBALA and SENTRA also expressed concern that the mediation will only result in an agreement that will not be beneficial to the farm workers. “The mediation will be the instrument and vehicle by and through which Hacienda Luisita Inc. can again tighten their grip on the sprawling Luisita estate. The end-result of the mediation would be an agreement that would maintain the SDO in favor of the petitioners, to the detriment of the farm workers," the groups said. The HLI and another faction of farmers entered into a compromise agreement on August 6, allowing the plantation’s more than 11,000 farmer-beneficiaries to choose between receiving parcels of land and retaining their stocks in the corporation. The farmers’ faction represented by Pahilga earlier asked the SC to junk the agreement saying it is illegal and was only entered into to pre-empt the high court’s decision on the issue. — LBG/KBK, GMANews.TV