Lopez, Virnadette L.

LAW 1932250

HACIENDA LUISITA, INCORPORATED, Petitioner, LUISITA INDUSTRIAL PARK CORPORATION and RIZAL
COMMERCIAL BANKING CORPORATION, Petitioners-in-Intervention, versus PRESIDENTIAL AGRARIAN
REFORM COUNCIL; SECRETARY NASSER PANGANDAMAN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRARIAN REFORM;
ALYANSA NG MGA MANGGAGAWANG BUKID NG HACIENDA LUISITA, RENE GALANG, NOEL MALLARI,
and JULIO SUNIGA[1] and his SUPERVISORY GROUP OF THE HACIENDA LUISITA, INC. and WINDSOR
ANDAYA, Respondents.

2012-04-24 | G.R. No. 171101

FACTS: Hacienda Luisita, Inc. (HLI) under the land acquisition scheme of the CARP was mandated by
an SC decision to distribute the original 6,296 qualified to farmworker-beneficiaries who shall
have the option to remain as stockholders of HLI. FWBs have two options that is to either: (a)
remain as HLI stockholders and be entitled to 18,804.32 shares each, or (b) not to remain as
HLI stockholders and instead be given land by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

Upon separate motions of the parties for reconsideration, the court recalled the option
granted to the FWBs to remain as stockholders of HLI and maintaining that all the benefits
and homelots received by all the FWBs shall be respected with no obligation to refund or
return them. Furthermore, the said Resolution entitled HLI to just compensation for the
agricultural land that will be transferred to DAR and that the just compensation shall be
reckoned from November 21, 1989 which is the date of issuance of PARC Resolution No. 89-
12-2 approving HLI’s Stock Distribution Plan (SDP).

ISSUES: Whether or not the court erred in determining the date of taking and basis of just
compensation was when the HLI SDP was approved?

RULING: Yes, the court maintain the date of taking. The court maintains that the date of “taking” is
November 21, 1989, the date when PARC approved HLI’s SDP per PARC Resolution No. 89-12-
2, in view of the fact that this is the time that the FWBs were considered to own and possess
the agricultural lands in Hacienda Luisita. To be precise, these lands became subject of the
agrarian reform coverage through the stock distribution scheme only upon the approval of
the SDP, that is, November 21, 1989. Thus, such approval is akin to a notice of coverage
ordinarily issued under compulsory acquisition.