Arrest looms for Luisita farmers who cling to land

HACIENDA LUISITA, Tarlac City—The 23 farmers, who were accused of grave coercion after they occupied portions of Hacienda Luisita that belonged to the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), said they were ready to surrender after a local court issued a warrant for their arrest.

“We will face arrest and stand by our conviction that the property belongs to the farmers,” said Lito Bais, acting chair of the United Luisita Workers Union.

Judge Marvin Mangino, of the municipal trial court here, issued the warrant on Feb. 23 but it was sent for enforcement to the city police on Monday. Mangino set bail of P12,000 for each of the accused.

Lawyer Jobert Pahilga, who represents the farmers, said his clients would surrender today (March 21).

The property in question is a 200-hectare portion of the more than 6,000-ha Hacienda Luisita which the Supreme Court cited in its November 2011 decision that threw away stocks in favor of actual land distribution of the sugar estate owned by relatives of President Aquino.

In the ruling, the high court excluded the property from agrarian reform coverage and declared the RCBC as a buyer in good faith.

In July last year, the farmers occupied the land, which is planted to sugarcane, and tilled portions of it. RCBC sued the farmers after the occupation.

RCBC acquired the property on Nov. 25, 2004, through foreclosure after the Luisita Industrial Property Corp. failed to pay its loan to the bank. The property costs P431.6 million.

While Pahilga reaffirmed the farmers’ readiness in facing the warrant, he said the court has no jurisdiction over the issue.

Citing provisions of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, Pahilga said the case should be resolved by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

“The issue at hand is an agrarian issue and this should be referred to the DAR,” he said.

He said he had sought the dismissal of the case but the court did not act on it. He said he would again file a motion to dismiss the case, seek its referral to DAR and quash the arrest warrant or defer its service. Jo Martinez-Clemente, Inquirer Central Luzon