No official Luisita value yet, says DAR sec

MANILA, Philippines—The figures that appeared in the media referring to the value of Hacienda Luisita, the sugar estate owned by the Cojuangco relatives of President Benigno Aquino that the Supreme Court ordered redistributed to farmers,  are all “speculation,” said Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes.

De los Reyes said there is no official valuation of Hacienda Luisita yet. He noted that the Tarlac plantation’s value would have to be computed by the Land Bank of the Philippines once the Supreme Court declares its order to be final and executory.

“Until the Landbank opens the books, all figures are speculation,” De los Reyes said in an interview.

The Supreme Court, in its November 22 decision, struck down the stock distribution option (SDO) exercised by the Hacienda Luisita management and ordered the land to be given to 6,200 farmers who have tilled it for decades.