MANILA, Philippines–The Supreme Court has ordered the distribution of more than 4,900 hectares of Hacienda Luisita lands to over 6,000 registered tenants of the sprawling agricultural estate owned by the relatives of President Aquino.
Voting unanimously, the 14 justices of the tribunal agreed to void the stock distribution plan which Hacienda Luisita Inc. offered to farmworker-beneficiaries (FWBs) in lieu of actual land ownership.
“Upon a review of the facts and circumstances, we realize that the FWBs will never have control over these agricultural lands for as long as they remain stockholders of HLI,” the court said in its 56-page decision.
The ruling penned by Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. was promulgated on Nov. 22, but was officially released to the media on Thursday.
Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio inhibited himself from the deliberation of the decades-old land dispute.
While they all agreed to the total land distribution, some of the justices had different views on the land valuation.
Chief Justice Renato Corona and Associate Justices Lucas Bersamin and Arturo Brion issued their separate concurring and dissenting opinions.
Read the copy of the decision of the Supreme Court on Hacienda Luisita land distribution