Farmers ask SC to reject Hacienda Luisita motion vs land distribution

MANILA, Philippines—One of the farmers’ unions in the Cojuangco-owned Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) has asked the Supreme Court to reject the company’s appeal.

The Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala), in its comment, said the owners’ motion for reconsideration was an attempt to delay the final ruling on the landmark land distribution case involving the 5,000 hectares of sugar cane land owned by President Aquino’s relatives.

The group also said that the appeal of Hacienda Luisita management lacked merit, stressing that the Supreme Court voted 14-0 to distribute the land to the tillers of the estate and struck down the stock distribution option that the management wanted to reinstate.

“The farm workers will never have control over these agricultural lands for as long as they remain as stockholders of HLI. During the operation of HLI, the farm workers were not given any dividends. They remained the minority stockholders” Ambala said.