SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines – Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes vowed here yesterday to complete the distribution of Hacienda Luisita to farmer-beneficiaries by October this year or, at the latest, by April next year.
The hacienda will be fully distributed within six to 12 months after the Supreme Court affirmed last April its final verdict on the land distribution, De los Reyes said in a press conference at the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) regional office here.
De los Reyes said the Aquino administration has no plans of extending the lifespan of his department beyond 25 years ending in 2014.
He said the President might just create a body to ensure smooth transition toward the abolition of the agency.
De los Reyes though admitted difficulty in identifying who among the original 6,296 farmer-beneficiaries are still alive and qualified, saying that about 20 percent of those in the list prepared in 1989 have already passed away.
Leaders of the Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala), which prepared the original list of beneficiaries in 1989, and its mother organization, the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid ng Gitnang Luson, have accused the DAR of conspiring with the Cojuangco family in allegedly sabotaging the distribution of Hacienda Luisita.
The hacienda was bought by the Cojuangco family in 1957 from a loan from the Government Service Insurance System under the condition that the estate would be distributed to the farm workers after 10 years or in 1967, but this did not happen.
On Nov. 22 last year, the Supreme Court ordered the hacienda distributed under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law and this was affirmed by the high court last April.