THE Department of Agrarian Reform threatened on Friday to file contempt of court charges before the Supreme Court against Hacienda Luisita Inc. for supposedly delaying the audit of P1.33-billion compensation for the conversion of some 500 hectares of hacienda lands into industrial lands.
Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Luis Pangulayan accused HLI, belonging to the family of former President Benigno Aquino III, of employing delaying tactics to block the Supreme Court-mandated audit of the P1.33-billion share of farm workers from the sale of HLI land assets.
“This (audit) should have been done as early as 2012, but HLI did not give much attention to it because of its delaying tactics,” he told reporters.
He said HLI is deliberately delaying the conduct of an audit to evade the payment of P1.33 billion for 6,296 farmer-beneficiaries.
“Now, HLI has filed a motion, seeking to change the auditors assigned by the Supreme Court in its order,” he added.
“We and Secretary Rafael Mariano would want to pursue an audit with the same audit firms mandated by the court. We have met with the three audit firms and coordinated with the Supreme Court.”
In its decision in 2012, the Supreme Court ordered not only land distribution, but also the P1.33 billion payment to the farmers as their share from the sale of hacienda lands.
The amount covers P500 million received by the Cojuangco-Aquino-controlled HLI for the sale of 200 hectares to a private firm, P750 million received by HLI’s subsidiary Centennary Holdings Inc. for the sale of the remaining 300 hectares, and P80.5 million for the sale of 80.1 hectares for the Subic Clark-Tarlac Expressway.
The Supreme Court appointed the Ocampo, Mendoza, Leong and Lim, Carissa May Pay-Penson and Navarro, Amper & Co. to determine if the P1,330,511,500 proceeds of the sale of the three lots were actually used or spent for legitimate corporate spouses and was given a 90-day period to complete the audit.
“We will file contempt of court against HLI,” he reiterated. “[Because] HLI is resisting.”
Meanwhile, Secretary Rafael Mariano challenged an administrative order of then secretary Virgilio de los Reyes under the Aquino administration disqualifying 111 farmer-beneficiaries of HLI for their refusal to sign DAR-issued application to purchase and farmers’ undertaking documents.
De los Reyes said those who refused to sign the APFU lost control of their assigned lots, and the involved farmers filed charges in court.
Invoking Republic Act 9700 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms, Mariano said APFU was never mentioned in any of its provisions.
“Under the law, one can just go to a judge and swear under oath that one will till the land and assume the amortization. The signing of such document — APFU — was never cited,” he added.
“I will come up with an administrative order, which the 11 farmers can use in court and convince the judge of the withdrawal of charges against them.”