Hacienda redux

EDITORIAL

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06/26/2010

Hacienda Luisita was a problem during the Cory Aquino presidency and it was clear that personal interest came before national interest when Cory, being the sole law and government, as she enjoyed absolute dictatorship status then, by fiat, exempted her Hacienda Luisita while placing all rice, corn, sugar and almost every private agricultural land under her claimed centerpiece program, her Agrarian Reform project.

When the Congress reopened, after 15 years, The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law was enacted, placing all agricultural lands under CARL, including Cory’s hacienda. To go around the law, Cory again had her Agrarian Reform secretary go through a stock option deal, where, instead of land, the workers become stockholders of the Hacienda Luisita Corp. but which in the end, turned out to benefit only the Cojuangco-Aquino management, and not the workers.

This state of Hacienda Luisita affairs went on, even under the Arroyo government — until a falling out between Cory and Gloria occurred, after which, Gloria’s Agrarian secretary issued a stop to the stock holdings system, and ordered the parceling of the hacienda land to the workers.

This was quickly stopped by the Aquino-Cojuangcos who sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Supreme Court that left the resolution of the case gathering dust for some four years.

Similarly, Cory’s son, Noynoy, the incoming President, is greeted with the same problem, which he has ignored throughout the campaign period, claiming that he only has a miniscule share in the hacienda, which has been parceled out for some commercial use which obviously will make the workers’ share of the land, infinitely smaller, should there be a resolution to the case before the high court.

But there is a problem facing Noynoy, the Luisita farmers, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, as the case up for review has landed in the SC First Division headed by the CJ himself, although the working chairman is another justice.

First, the SC CJ. If he and his First Division Justices rule in favor of lifting the four-year-old TRO, this move will no doubt please the farmers, but not Noynoy and the Aquino-Cojuangcos, who clearly want to hang on to Luisita, especially as Noynoy is today’s president. Think of more behest loans the family can have, for one.

No doubt, the Noynoy yellow supporters — which include the yellow media — will spin such a ruling, which could be seen as coming from an independent court, into a vindictive act by the CJ, whom everyone knows is disliked by Noynoy and his group. Also one must remember that they are elitists, and not pro-masa at all.

On the other side of the coin, if the First Division rules in favor of the Aquino-Cojuangcos, this would be seen by the farmers as Corona and his justices buttering up to Noynoy, with the farmers seeing this move as a betrayal.

But the First Division has something to lean on, jurisprudence-wise, since earlier, the high court had already ruled on land distribution, under which Cojuangco’s hacienda falls, or should fall.

Still, unless the First Division rules on this before June 30 and is left to the new DAR secretary of Noynoy, the new DAR appointee could very easily issue another order revoking Arroyo’s DAR chief’s order.

If the Aquino ll administration does revoke that order, which was issued a restraining order, that would mean that again, the Aquino-Cojuangcos’ interests are first and foremost being protected, just as they were protected when the Aquinos were in power and position during Cory’s time.

And change was the battlecry of Noynoy and the yellows?

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