Bishops to Aquino: Be a hero, distribute Hacienda Luisita lands now

MANILA, Philippines—Catholic bishops were elated over the Supreme Court’s ruling on the distribution of Hacienda Luisita, saying on Wednesday that President Aquino should seize a “golden opportunity” to implement the law immediately and become a “hero” of the poor farmers who have long waited to own their land.

“We are calling on President Aquino to ensure the prompt distribution of the land,” said Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines National Secretariat for Social Action.

Pabillo challenged the President to set aside personal interests and ensure that his government immediately process the identification of farmer-beneficiaries and provide support services through an allocated budget from the Department of Agrarian Reform.

“Now, President Aquino has the golden opportunity to seriously implement (land reform) in the country and become great in the eyes of the farmers. I hope he would take seriously the decision of the high court and that he would be able to genuinely use his power to help the poor,” said Pabillo over Church-run Radio Veritas on Wednesday.

The prelate, one of the members of the Church championing the rights of the poor, also extended his congratulations to the Supreme Court, especially to the eight magistrates who voted for the distribution of the sugar estate owned by Aquino’s Cojuangco relatives based on the 1989 real estate rates.

“This is really good news that’s why I congratulate our justices…this has been an issue for more than 50 years and finally it has been given judgment by the Supreme Court,” added the prelate.

CBCP President Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma also expressed his joy over the Supreme Court ruling with the same hope that President Aquino would exercise his power to ensure that his administration would promptly move to distribute the 4,915-hectare Hacienda Luisita estate.

“I hope the land will eventually be distributed to the farmers and so we can show that here in our country, we can be witnesses to the sharing of justice and giving the farmers their rights,” Palma also said over Radio Veritas on Wednesday.

“I salute the Supreme Court, I trust these people who are knowledgeable about the law,” said Palma.

“Of course, knowing that the Hacienda Luisita farmers, like others in various haciendas, have long waited for many years for their land to be distributed, I respect the decision of the SC and I am also happy about it,” added the prelate.

For his part, Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez said it was the duty of the President to uphold the spirit of the law for the poor farmers. “My call to President Aquino is to really look after the welfare of our farmers because it’s his responsibility as the leader of the country.”

Meanwhile, Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes hailed the high tribunal’s decision rejecting with finality an effort by the family of Aquino to secure at least P5 billion in compensation for its estate as “a welcome development for justice, land reform and farmer-beneficiaries.”