Palace withholds comment on Luisita ruling

MANILA, Philippines—The Palace on Thursday deferred any comment on the Supreme Court’s decision ordering the distribution of about 5,000 hectares of Hacienda Luisita, a sugar plantation owned by the family of President Aquino, to its tenants.

“We will defer comment until we have seen it,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told reporters, noting that the Palace has not yet received a copy of the high court’s order and that Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona had said they have not yet released the order.

Lacierda said also that the Palace did not want to speculate on the timing of the decision.

The ruling comes amid a controversy between the high court and the Aquino administration over the refusal of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to obey a court order that would have allowed former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to travel abroad before criminal charges were actually filed against her. The court’s temporary restraining order eventually became moot after the Commission on Elections filed a charge of electoral sabotage against the former President.

“This is not going to be an issue between the Supreme Court and the President,” Lacierda said.

Lacierda noted that President Aquino had already divested himself of shares in Hacienda Luisita and thus, the Chief Executive should “not be placed in a compromising position.”