CARP defeat in Luisita seen in sale of farmlands

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The sale of land covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), prohibited by the agrarian reform law, continues in the estate owned by the family of President Benigno Aquino III, according to farm workers.

Sources among farm workers, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, said at least 80 beneficiaries, also farm workers in Hacienda Luisita, sold their lots (6,600 square meters each) to a Chinese-Filipino businessman based in Isabela province.

The sources said this was the first mass sale of land covered by CARP in Luisita after the Department of Agrarian Reform proceeded with the distribution of at least 4,500 hectares of the more than 6,000-hectare estate owned by the Cojuangcos, maternal relatives of Aquino.

Anthony Parungao, agrarian reform undersecretary for legal affairs, ordered the agency’s Central Luzon office and Tarlac office to verify the deals.

The sale and purchase of lands covered by CARP, centerpiece program of Aquino’s mother the late President Corazon Aquino, are prohibited for 10 years after the lands had been distributed, he said.

He added that those involved in the land deals face charges.

According to Parungao, beneficiaries found to have sold their lands or certificates of land ownership (Cloas) would be disqualified from CARP. If they were found to be not tilling or in possession of their lots, their Cloas would be canceled, he said.

Both seller and buyer, Parungao said, may be held criminally liable for obstruction of CARP implementation under Republic Act No. 6657 (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law).

The law imposes a fine of P50,000-P100,000 and jail terms of three to six years on violators.

The Department of Agrarian Reform, Parungao said, is now building up cases against violators, “involving the collation of evidence (like) pictures and sworn statements.”

DAR had completed the issuance of Cloas to more than 6,000 farm workers in Luisita in the last quarter of 2013.

According to the sources, the contract involving the sale of beneficiaries’ lands to the Isabela businessman was signed on Tuesday in Barangay Sta. Maria in Concepcion town.

The 24-page contract was also signed by the daughter of the businessman, the sources said.

Residents said the businessman has been visiting Hacienda Luisita since October.

Luisita was the biggest contiguous sugar estate in the country until the Supreme Court ordered its distribution in April 2012. CARP was first implemented there in 1989 through the stock option plan which gave shares of stock instead of land to beneficiaries.

Inquirer sources said the Isabela businessman bought at least 400 ha in Barangay Motrico, La Paz town; in the villages of Mapalacsiao and Cutcut (also known as Sta. Catalina) in Tarlac City; and Parang and Mabilog in Concepcion town.

According to the sources, beneficiaries were paid in checks that were cashed at a bank in front of a mall in Tarlac City. Farm workers saw long queues at the bank on Tuesday.