why named luisita

8/11/2019 Why Named Luisita

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WHY NAMED LUISITA??

Hacienda Luisita was once owned by the Compaa General de Tabacos de Filipinas," also known as "Tabacalera", founded in

November 1881 by Don Antonio Lpez y Lpez, a Spaniard from Santander, in Cantabria, Spain.

Lopez acquired the estate in 1882, a year before his death, and named it Hacienda Luisita" after his wife, Luisa Bru y Lasss.

Lopez was considered a financial genius and the most influential Spanish businessman of his generation." He counted the King

of Spain as a personal friend.

Luisita was just one of his haciendas. Lopez also owned estates in other parts of the country: Hacienda Antonio (named after his

eldest son), Hacienda San Fernando, and Hacienda Isabel (named after his eldest daughter).

Tabacaleras incorporators included the Sociedad General de Crdito Inmobiliario Espaol, Banque de Paris (now Paribas), and

Bank of the Netherlands (now ABN-AMRO). Luisita was a sugar and tobacco plantation.

It all began with theTabacalera

In 1882, Don Antonio Lopez Y Lopez, the most successful and influential Spanish businessman of the 19thCentury, acquiredmore than 12,000 hectares of prime agricultural land in Tarlac, Central Luzon, on behalf of his newly formed company, the

Compania General de Tobacos de Filipinas, known as the Tabacalera.This acquisition was achieved by means of a Roya

Grant from the Spanish Crown, which held a self appointed claim to the lands of the Philippines as colonial overlords. He

named the property Hacienda Luisita, after his wife, Luisa Bru Y Lassus.

Don Antonio was an extraordinary character in himself. Born in the small town of Comillas, on the North Coast of Spain, and

losing his father at the age of 2, Lopez was sent to work with relatives in Andalusia at 10 years of age, to help support his

family. Lopez migrated to Cuba at the age of 14, where he spent the next twenty years, initially building a trading business,

dealing in flour, and other basic commodities, which he converted into a shipping company, which would eventually become

known as the CompaniaTransatlantica Espanola.

Lopez attracted great favor from the Spanish Crown, and considerable profit for his company, with the transfer of troops to and

from Spainscolonial insurrections in Africa in 1859 and the ten year war in Cuba from 1861 by steam ship. His company held

the contract for the shipping of SpainsColonial correspondence, as well as being a major shipper of commodities, including

slaves, between Spain and her colonies.

By the time of his installation as the 1stMarquis of Comillas, a Royal Thiefdom , created for him by a grateful King, in 1878,

Don Antonio had expanded his empire into Banking, mining, and rail infrastructure in Spain. As well as substantial tobacco and

sugar estates in the Caribbean. Lopez was considered a close friend and adviser to King Alfonso the XII of Spain, as well as

being a well known associate of Spainsfirst Prime Minister of foreign blood, the Spanish/Filipino Don Marcelo Azcarraga y

Palmero.

The American Occupation (1899 1946)

The United States entered The Philippines in 1899, in the guise of supporting the existing Philippine War of Independence

against the Spanish, initially as part of the tail end of the Spanish American War. After negotiating terms with the Spanish (who

at the time were on the brink of defeat by the forces of the First Philippine Republic, who had encircled the last of the Spanish

forces in their walled Capital of Manila). The United States reneged on a deal with the President of the First Republic Emilio

Aguinaldo, and annexed the Philippines as an extension of the spoils of the Spanish American War. An action which led to war


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with the Philippines. Which, as far as Central Luzon was concerned lasted until 1901 (in other areas of The Philippines, most

notably the Moro areas of Western Mindanao, armed resistance to the Americans continued as late as 1913).

From the very beginning the United States represented the annexation of the Philippines as a period of tutelage towards self

rule. President McKinley initiated two commissions to report to congress on the issue, the Schumman Commission, in 1898

delivered in 1900, and the Taft Commission which included some executive powers in the Philippines in 1900, delivered in

1902. It was the assertion of these Commissions that if handed independence at that point the leadership of the Islands would

rapidly fall into anarchy. With the Taft commission further stating that the plan put forward by Aguinaldo for the rule of theOligarchy is unsuitable and undemocratic.

Although it was not apparent at the time, the seeds of post independence Hacienda Luisita were sewn in this period, with the

great wealth of the Cojuangco family appearing miraculously between 1899 and 1901. The Cojuangcos settled in Paniqui

Tarlac, in March 1896. The patriarch of the clan, the Chinese immigrant Jose Cojuangco (Chinese name Koh Giok Kuan), a

builder who had obtained a reputation for the quality of his work, most notably for the Church in Balacan.

It is said that the source of the Cojuangcos wealth came via General Antonio Luna, the Supreme Chief of the Army of the Firs

Republic of the Philippines. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Luna had the funds of the revolution collected from repositories

in Illocos and Pampanga, sent to the home of his girlfriend, Ysidra Cojuangco, in Paniqui, Tarlac, for safe keeping from the

advancing American Forces. The last of these shipments arriving from Pampanga 3 days before Lunasassassination at thehands of troops loyal to Aguinaldo, the President of the First Republic, in June 1899. After Lunasdeath the Cojuangcos are

believed to have hidden the treasure in a well on the property. The funds were never recovered and it is suggested that the

Cojuangcos simply kept the money, using it as capital to build there extensive empire in the years immediately following the

conflict.

The Cojuangcos themselves have maintained that their rapid accumulation of wealth in this period was due to frugality and

good business sense in rice marketing and money lending activities. They maintain that they were aided by free rail transport to

Manila markets from their rice mill in Paniqui (the commercial rate at this time being P 2.50 per sack), as a gift from General

Arthur Macarthur, whom they assisted with accommodation and storage space during the American advance. However given

that in this period rice production in Tarlac was hampered not only by war, but also by severe floods and locust plagues it is

difficult to see how this competitive advantage could translate to a building family who invested in a 2 hectare property andsmall rice mill in 1896, to owning 2,000 hectares along the rail line by 1901. A holding which increased to more than 12,000

Hectares, spread across Central Luzon by the 1920s.

Regardless of the source, by the official end of hostilities in the region in 1901, Ysidra Cojuangco, the spinster aunt of Jose

Pepe Cojuangco, his 3 brothers, Juan, Antonio and Eduardo, and matriarch of the clan, was considered the richest woman in

the Philippines.

Under American occupation contrary to what might have been expected, the Spanish owned Hacienda Luisita flourished. This

was largely due to the American obsession with sugar. The Tabcalera, abandoned tobacco production on the estate in the 1920s

to cater for the growing sugar quotas from the US. In 1927 they constructed the sugar refinery the Central Azcurarera de

Tarlac(CAT), incorporating centrifugal machinery from the US to effectively double production and negate their need to ship

the sugar to refineries in Laguna, owned by the Roxas family. At one point prior to the outbreak of World War II, Hacienda

Luisita was supplying 20% of the sugar consumed in the United States.

The Japanese Occupation

During the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines (1941 1945), sugar production continued at Hacienda Luisita. The

Japanese policy was to ensure that supplies of commodities such as sugar were not interrupted, in an attempt to avoid

insurgencies. The continuation of production served both Spanish and Japanese interests at the time.

During the liberation of the Philippines from Japanese occupation, General Douglas Dugout DougMacarthur, set up his

advanced headquarters at Hacienda Luisita on the 25th of January 1945. Macarthur was a childhood friend of Pepe Cojuangco.


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The famous, official publicity photograph on the right shows Macarthur stepping ashore on Leyte in company with the

President of the Commonwealth in exile, Sergio Osmena (far left in pith helmet) .

The Cojuangco Purchase

In the early 1950s,the Spanish owners of the Tabacalera, decided to sell Hacienda Luisita and the CAT, due to concerns over

Hukbalahap (communist) insurgencies in the area.

The wealthy Lopez family of Iloilo moved to purchase the CAT, but this purchase was vetoed by President Ramon Magsaysay

reportedly due to concerns the Lopez clan, who already owned Meralco, Negros Navigation,The Manila Chronicle, ABS-CBN

substantial agricultural holdings in the Western Visayas and the nearby PASUMIL consortium in Pampang a which they had

purchased from the Americans,would become too powerful.

Instead he brokered a deal with his political prodigy Benigno NinoyS Aquino Jr, for whom Magsaysay had acted as Ninong

(primary sponsor) of his wedding to Corozon Cojuangco, to offer the property exclusively to Ninoysfather-in-law Jose Don

PepeCojuangco Sr. The Cojungcos at the time were already the largest land owners in Central Luzon, but while wealthy in

Peso and bank holdings, had no substantial holdings in US dollars.

After Magsaysaysdeath, in a plane crash in Cebu on March 17th 1957, the sale continued under the Presidency of Carlos

Garcia, a strong supporter of then Senator Ferdinand Marcos. In August 1957 the Philippine Government facilitated the

purchase of the CAT by providing Central Bank (CB) support to the Cojuangcos to obtain a Dollar loan from the Manufacturer

Trust Company of New York (MTC). This support required the CB to deposit a substantial amount of the Nations Dollar

reserve with the MTC.

The CB extended this support on the condition that the Cojuangcos also purchase the by then 6,453 hectare Hacienda Luisita

with the CAT, with a view to distributing the land to small farmers within a 10 year period of the purchase under reasonable

terms.

On the 27th of August, 1957, the Central Bank Monetary Board issued Resolution No. 1240, approving the loan for the

purchase of shares in the CAT, adding the clause that, There shall be a simultaneous purchase of Hacienda Luisita with the

purchase of the shares, with a view to distributing this hacienda to small farmers in line with the Administrations Social Justice

program.

The Government also organized a loan from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), for the purchase of the

Hacienda. On November 27th, 1957, the GSIS approved a loan of P 5.9 million through Resolution No. 3202. The GSIS loan

was approved after Don Pepe informed them in a letter that the Cojuangcos acquisition of the Hacienda would pave the way

for the sale to bona fide planters on a long term basis, portions of the Hacienda. On the condition that Hacienda Luisita be

subdivided among the tenants who shall pay the cost thereof under reasonable terms and conditions.

Four months later, Don Pepe Cojuangco made a successful application to the GSIS to change the phrase to shall be sold at

cost to tenants, should there be any.This phrase would be cited later on as justification not to distribute the Haciendas land.

So on April the 8th 1958 Don Pepe Cojuangcoscompany, the Tarlac Development Corporation (TADECO), became the new

owner of Hacienda Luisita and Central Azucarera de Tarlac. Don Pepe immediately installed Ninoy Aquino as Administrator of

the Hacienda.

The purchase of Hacienda Luisita and the CAT was the largest investment ever made. The Cojuangcos Lawyer in the purchase

of Hacienda Luisita was Juan Ponce Enrile. the leader of the 1986 People Power Revolution and current President of the

Philippine Senate.


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The Great Social Experiment

On taking over Don Pepe and Ninoy immediately installed a near welfare state at Hacienda Luisita. The initiatives implemented

included, free medical care and medicines, scholarships to college, free education, free food and equitable shares of the harves

to farmers, free childcare, free burials, a village earmarked for the farmers and free fuel for tractors.

Although Don Pepe made losses, he was able to support his social reform program through his other profitable investments in

the Bank of Commerce and First Manila Management, which he owned, and his holdings in Pantranco buses and the Mantrade

Group.

During the period of Don Pepe and Ninoys Administration of the Hacienda there was great optimism among the residents. Not

a single strike was instigated in this period by the farm or refinery workers, nor indeed by the workers at the nearby Paniqui

Sugar Mills, which were managed by Don Pepe on behalf of his aunt, the Cojuangco Matriarch Ysidra. To this day the majority

of older residents maintain a deep and genuine affection for the two men.

The Marcos era

In 1965 Ferdinand Marcos defeated the incumbent Diosdado Macapagal in what is often described as the most corrupted

election in Philippine History. Marcos set out on a campaign against the established Oligarchy of the Philippines of which the

Cojuangcos were a member. His most vocal critic and effective leader of the opposition was now Senator Ninoy Aquino.

The 10-year window given by the Philippine Government for the Cojuangcos to distribute the land elapsed in 1967 with no land

distribution taking place. During this time, farmers began to organize into groups to push for land distribution. The Cojuangcos

however, insisted that there were no tenants on the Hacienda, hence no need to distribute land.

In 1969 a family feud led to Don Pepe selling his 28% share in the Bank of Commerce, to the other 3 strands of the

Cojuangco family. It is believed that this split occurred due to the unwillingness of the representatives of the other strands of the

family led by Juan Itoy, Don Pepes brother, Ramon, the son of Antonio Sr, who was killed by the Japanese in 1945, and the

then Congressman in Marcos Nationalista Party, Danding, son of Eduardo, who died of kidney failure when the family were

unable to convert there Peso holdings into Dollars to obtain medical treatment in the United States, to allow Don Pepes elde s

son Pedro to take over as president of the Bank. Although this sale was on amicable terms it removed one of the 3 props thatDon Pepe held to mitigate the loses generated by the Hacienda

Marcos declared Martial Law on the 21st of September 1972. Not withstanding that the primary reason given for the declaration

was concerns over Communist insurgency in lite of a series of events, most notably the Plaza Miranda Bombing in Manila in

August 1971, which the Communist Party claimed responsibility for. However despite the fact that the Plaza Miranda incident

was a direct attack on the Liberal Party, Liberal Senator Ninoy Aquino was among the first to be arrested and imprisoned under

the new powers.

Added to this Don Pepe was unable to upgrade the machinery in the aging CAT. The Marcos administration had refused his

application to increase fares on his Pantranco buses to compensate for rising costs, despite allowing other companies to do so.

Marcos critics believed that this was an attempt to coerce Don Pepe into apply pressure on his son in law Ninoy to refrain from

making disparaging remarks about the President and First Lady Imelda Marcos (who Ninoy had labeled the new Eva Peron).

In 1974 Don Pepes business empire suffered a further blow with the death of his close friend and business partner Manue

Lopa. Lopa had maintained a close relationship withSpeaker of the House of Representatives, Daniel Romualdez, Imeldas

uncle. Ambassador Benjamin Romualdez, the brother of Imelda, then coerced Pepe and his son-in-law, RicardoBaby Lopa

(Manuels son) into selling the collection of 38 companies under First Manila Management to him. Baby and his wife Teresita

Cojuangco, together with Pepe and the rest of the Lopa heirs, had no choice but to sell. The second of Don Pepes 3 props for

the Hacienda disappeared with this extortion.


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Finally in early 1976 Don Pepe sold off his final prop, The First United Bank, which he had built up on his own after his ousting

from the family owned Bank of Commerce to his nephew Danding for an amicable sum. With all of his external lifelines

gone Don Pepe was left with little more than a half rehabilitated and barely earning white elephant.

Don Pepe Cojuangco died, reportedly a broken and disillusioned man, on the 21st of August, 1976, while Ninoy Aquino was

still in custody. His funeral was attended by thousands of Hacienda Luisita residents.

The Government had sent only three letters to the Cojuangcos from the 1960s to the 1970s to follow up the issue of land

distribution.During 1977 the Government reviewed the Cojuangcos compliance with the land distribution condition contained in

the loan agreements.

On the 22nd of June, 1978, Demetira Cojuangco, the widow of Don Pepe, wrote to Ernesto Valdez, the Deputy Minister of the

Ministry of Agrarian Reform. In this letter she said that it was extremelyunwarranted to make us account for the fulfillment o

a condition that cannot be enforced,furthermore that thereare no tenants in Hacienda Luisita,adding that theCentral Bank

resolution does not indicate small farmers and that theHacienda is outside the scope of any land reform program of the

Governmentand that thereis no agrarian unrest in Hacienda Luisita.

The Marcos Government filed case No.13164, against Jose Cojuangco Sr and his heirs, before the Manila Regional Trial Cour

(MRTC) on the 7th of May 1980, to force the Cojuangco-owned TADECO into surrendering Hacienda Luisita to the Ministryof Agrarian Reform so that the land could be distributed to the farmers at cost. The case was filed as Ninoy Aquino and his

family were leaving for exile in the US.

The Cojuangcos responded to the government complaint by on the 10th of January 1981, arguing that the land could not be

distributed because the Hacienda did not have tenants. They also argued that sugar lands were not covered by existing agrarian

reform legislation. Anti-Marcos groups claimed that the governments case was an act of harassment against Ninoy Aquinos

family.

After living in exile for 3 years in Boston, Massachusetts, Ninoy Aquino returned to Manila. He was assassinated on the tarmac

of the Manila International Airport, now named in his honor, upon arrival on the 21st of August, 1983.

The MRTC ordered TADECO to surrender Hacienda Luisita to the Ministry of Agrarian Reform, to redistribute the land tosmall farmers, and that the landowners, TADECO, be compensated P 3.988 million, on the 2nd of December 1985. The

Cojuangcos decried this as an act of harassment because Cory Cojuangco Aquino was set to run against Marcos in the February

1986 snap elections. The family later elevated the matter to the Court of Appeals.

On December 3, 1985, the day after the MRTC ruling, Cory Aquino, widow of Ninoy and daughter of Don Pepe, officially filed

her certificate of candidacy for President. Land reform was among the pillars of her campaign. She promised to give land to

the tiller and to subject Hacienda Luisita to land reform.

The Presidency of Corazon Cojuangco Aquino

The February the 7th, 1986 snap election was marred by allegations of widespread fraud against Marcos. The anti-Marcos

sentiments led to the People Power Revolution, a series of nonviolent mass street demonstrations, culminating in thewithdrawal of US backing for the Marcos regime, and finally, the seizure of the Malacanang Palace by a group led by the then

Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and General Fidel Ramos, Marcos cousin. Marcos and his senior cronies, including

Danding Cojuangco, fled the country to take refuge in the United States, and the millionaire housewife, Corazon Cojuangco

Aquino, who had been on retreat, meditating with the Carmelite Sisters in Cebu during the revolution, was elevated to the

Presidency. thus bringing a return to power for the more traditional Oligarchy of the Philippines.

The initial phase of the Cory Aquino Presidency was dominated by actions to sure up power, centered around the institution of a

much criticized new constitution, which extended greater protections to the landed Oligarchs. With no sign of the promised

agrarian reform on the horizon, labour groups became more and more frustrated and eleven months into the Cory Aquino

presidency, on the 22nd of January, 1987, thousands of frustrated farmers marched to Malacaang demanding land reform and


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the distribution of land at no cost to beneficiaries. In a violent dispersal, 13 protesters were killed in what has gone down in

history as the Mendiola Massacre. An event cited today by the left as the beginning of Cory Aquinos reign of blood, and

the first of scores of massacres and dispersals perpetrated on the Philippine people by the forces of her regime.

Eventually on the 22nd of July, 1987, Cory issued Presidential Proclamation 131 and Executive Order No. 229 outlining her

agrarian reform program, which unlike previous social justice programs, covered sugar and coconut lands. The outline also

included a provision for the Stock Distribution Option (SDO), a mode of complying with the land reform law that did not

require actual transfer of the land to the tiller.

Then on March the 17th, 1988, the Government withdrew its case against the Cojuangcos. Corys appointee, Solicitor General

Frank Chavez, filed a motion for the Court of Appeals to dismiss the civil case the Marcos government filed and won at the

Manila Regional Trial Court against the Cojuangcos. The Department of Agrarian Reform and the GSIS, then headed by

Aquino appointees Philip Juico and Feliciano Sonny Belmonte, respectively, did not object to the motion to dismiss the case

Added to this the Central Bank did not object to dismissal of case as it assumed that Luisita would be distributed anyway

through the upcoming Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

The Court of Appeals dismissed the case filed by the Marcos government against the Cojuangco-owned TADECO on May

18th, 1988. The Government itself, under Cory, moved to withdraw the finding that compelled TADECO to distribute land.

With this the Cojuangcos seemed to have achieved unencumbered sovereignty over Hacienda Luisita.

With the prior rulings safely negated President Aquino finally signed into law Republic Act No. 6657 or the ComprehensiveAgrarian Reform Law, on the 10th of June 1988. A clause in the agrarian reform program included SDO, which allows

landowners to give farmers shares of stock in a corporation instead of land.

On the 23rd of August 1988 TADECO established Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) to implement the distribution of stocks to

farmers in the Hacienda. The Cojuangcos justified Luisitas SDO by saying it was impractical to divide the Haciendas 4,915.75

hectares of land among 6,296 farm workers because this would give farmers less than one hectare of land each (or 0.78 hectares

of land per person), not near enough land to support a family.

From the beginning of 1989 the real crisis began on Hacienda Luisita. Lack of work and a population that had swollen wel

above what the property could support led to abject poverty. The farm and refinery workers on the Hacienda were reliant on the

charity of the Cojuangcos for their very survival.

On May the 9th,1989, the Haciendas farm workers were asked to choose between stocks or land in a referendum. The SDO

won 92.9% of the vote. A second referendum and information campaign were held five months later and the SDO won again,

getting 96.75% of the vote.

Father Joaquin Bernas, a 1987 Constitutional Commission member, said in his June 27, 1989, column in The Manila Chronicle

that Luisitas SDO is inconsistent with the Constitution. The [SDO] is a loophole because it does not support the Constitutions

desire that the right of farmers to become owners of the land they till should be promoted by government.

When the CARP was implemented in Hacienda Luisita on the 11th of May, 1989, the farm workersownership of the plantation

was pegged at 33 percent, while the Cojuangcos retained 67 percent. The SDO agreement spelled out a 30-year schedule for

transferring the stocks to the farm workers:

At the end of each fiscal year, for a period of 30 years, the SECOND PARTY (HLI) shall arrange with the FIRST P ARTY

(TADECO) the acquisition and distribution to the THIRD PARTY (farm workers) on the basis of number of days worked and

at no cost to them of one-thirtieth (1/30) of 118,391,976.85 shares of the capital stock of the SECOND PARTY (HLI) that are

presently owned and held by the FIRST PARTY (TADECO), until such time as the entire block of 118,391,976.85 shares shal

have been completely acquired and distributed to the THIRD PARTY (farm workers).

On the 21st of November,1989, the Agrarian Reform Secretary Miriam Defensor-Santiago

approved the SDO agreement of Hacienda Luisita. However, Santiagos tenure at the DAR only lasted two months. In 2005

Santiago, by then a senator, alleged Cory Aquino removed her from the position because of a comment she made to the media


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that Cory should inhibit herself from being the chairperson of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC), which

approves SDO agreements.

The presidency of Cory Aquino came to an end on the 30th of June 1992, and she was replaced by Fidel Ramos, who had

essentially been her protector during the various coup attempts that punctuated her term. She left the entire region of Central

Luzon in complete disarray, with thousands still starving in the aftermath of the cataclysmic eruption of Mt Pinatubo a year

earlier, and the closure of the United States military bases, Clark air base in Pampanga and the Subic Bay naval facility in

Zambeles.

The reclassification of the land.

It was also in 1992 that Pedro Cojuangco, Don Pepes eldest son and administrator of the Hacienda, with tenure secured by the

stock distribution option, attempted to bring Luisita up to a point of profit. He initially attempted a variety of austerity measures

all to little avail, as a sugar producing entity the Hacienda and the CAT would fail to record a profit until 2009, and then only

due to the temporary unreliability of the Brazilian sugar market.

It was apparent that diversification may be the key to the survival of Hacienda Luisita and on the 1st of September, 1995, the

Sangguniang Bayan of Tarlac (Provincial Board of Tarlac), under the leadership of the Governor of Tarlac Province, Margarita

Tingting Cojuangco, the wife of Jose Peping Cojuangco Jr., passed a resolution that reclassified 3,290 out of Hacienda

Luisitas viable 4,915 hectares, from agricultural to commercial, industrial, and residential land.

The Department of Agrarian Reform approved for conversion 500 hectares of the Luisita land on the 14th of August 1996.

The Hacienda Luisita Massacre

By 2003, with another member of the Central Luzon Oligarchy, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, installed in Malacanang Palace, the

farm workersdaily wage flattened at P194.50 and work days were down to one per week. The Hacienda workers then filed a

petition with the DAR to have the SDO agreement revoked.

On the 14th of October, 2003, workers from the HLI supervisory group petitioned the DAR to revoke the SDO, saying theywere not receiving the dividends and other benefits earlier promised to them. Two months later, a petition to revoke the SDO

bearing more than 5,300 signatures was filed by union officers at the DAR to revoke the SDO and stop land conversion in

Hacienda Luisita.

Throughout the month of July 2004, the union tried to negotiate a wage increase to P225 per day. Workers also asked that the

work days be increased to 2-3 days per week, instead of just once a week. The management disagreed, claiming that the

company was losing money, and that any increases would be impossible.

Then on the 1st of October, HLI management retrenched 327 farm workers, including union officers. This action resulted in

almost all 5,000 members of the United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU) and 700 members of Central Azucarera de Tarlac

Labor Union (CATLU), whos wage negotiations had stagnated at the time, staging a protest against the mass retrenchment, on

the 6th of November 2004. The ULWU strikers formed a picket at the main No1 Gate of the CAT, while the contingent from

the CATLU picketed Gate No. 2.

On November 10, 2004, four days after the strike started, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) declared an

Assumption of Jurisdiction. Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas announced that quelling the strike was a matter of national

interest because Luisita was one of the Countrys major sugar producers. The Assumption of Jurisdiction legally cleared the

way to use government troops to stop the strike. The picketers were ordered to vacate within five days, or else be removed by

force. The Unionists claimed that this decision was due to the Cojuangcos direct influence within the Malacanang Palace,

President Arroyo had initially entered political life in 1987 on the invitation of Cory Aquino and in her electoral success of just


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6 months earlier had received assistance from both Noynoy and Kris Aquino ( Noynoys tv star sister), as well as their support

in her 2001 ousting of President Joseph Estrada on the back of corruption claims.

On the 15th of November to protect themselves from the forthcoming forcible removal, the workers called on the people in the

barrios around Hacienda Luisita to form a human barrier at the picket line, according to Lito Bais, current acting president o

ULWU. The villagers came, including priests, barangay officials, and children whose families sympathized with the workers.

Concerned groups from out of town also sent contingents to help protect the strikers.

On November 15, 2004, the Philippine National Police (PNP) returned as promised with reinforcements. According to reports

to the Senate, around 400 policemen tried to disperse about 4,000 protesters. CATLU president Ric Ramos was hit and

collapsed from a large head wound, but the police were still unable to break the picket.

At some point on the afternoon of the 15th, Union leaders were summoned to a meeting at the Makati home of Jose Peping

Cojuangco Jr., to attempt to resolve the issue. The Union representatives left for the meeting early on the morning of the 16th

Upon arriving at Makati, the representatives of the CATLU were told that there would be no negotiations until the strike was

lifted. While the representatives of the ULWU, were refused entry as HLI management claimed, contrary to Philippine

Industrial Law, that as retrenched workers they were effectively disenfranchised from the process, refusing to allow them the

right to negotiate on behalf of their peers. Strike organizers later stated they they believed that this shambolic meeting was

nothing more than a ruse to allow the Government forces to organize their attack.

Upon returning to the picket at around 3.00 PM on the 16th of November, the Union Leaders were greeted by a sightreminiscent of a war zone. In their absence the security forces had swelled to include, 2 tanks equipped with heavy weapons, a

payloader, 4 fire trucks with water cannon, 17 trucks full of soldiers in full battle dress, 700 policemen and snipers positioned in

at least 5 strategic locations.

he violence erupted when one of the tanks and the payloader broke through the number one gate, which had been locked by

management, and security forces began pelting the protesters with tear gas and water cannon infused with chemicals. The

protesters fought back, burying tear gas cannisters in the soil and hurling stones at their attackers with sling shots. Eventually

the water cannons and tear gas ran out and demonstrators, cheering their victory, surged forward, hurling rocks at the security

forces.

Gunfire erupted. The first spray of bullets lasted for a full minute, followed by a series of short sprays. At least 7 people were

killed and 121 injured, 32 by gunshot wounds. At the Senate inquiry held into the massacre on the 1st of December that year it

was revealed that an astounding 1,000 rounds were fired at the protesters. Doctors who autopsied the dead and examined the

wounded after the massacre reported that the victims had been shot whilst running away, crouching or lying down.

On the 17th of November, 2004, the day after the massacre, Tarlac Congressman and deputy speaker of the House, Benigno

Noynoy Aquino III, defended the dispersal in the House of Representatives, saying that its an illegal strike, no strike vote

was called. He added that police and soldiers were subjected to sniper fire from an adjacent Barangay. The PNP officia

account of the massacre echoed the statements of Noynoy, however these assertions were debunked by evidence presented to

the Senate enquirey.

A month after the Hacienda Luisita massacre, picket lines were established around the Hacienda. Soon after, eight people who

supported the farmers cause or had evidence supporting their case were murdered one by one.

The killings began on December 8, 2004 with the death of Marcelino Beltran, a retired army officer turned peasant leader

Beltran was assassinated in his house just before he was to testify about bullet trajectories at the Senate and Congress on

December 13 and 14, 2004

On the 5th of January 2004, a group of 20 farm workers in a picket at the west gate of the Las Haciendas housing developmen

were fired upon by bodyguards of Congressman Noynoy Aquino. George Loveland and Ernesto Cruz were shot and injured in

the incident. Both men survived their injuries and testified before the Senate 7 days later. No charges were ever filed against

anyone.


9/17

Local Councilor Abelard Ladera, who had collected documents relating to the Hacienda Luisita SDO, with the intention of

tabling them before the senate was shot dead on the 3rd of March 2005.

his was followed by the assassination of Priest and Hacienda workers sympathizer Father William Tadena, who was shot dead

by a body guard of Noynoy Aquino on the 13th of March. This killing was witnessed by fellow priest Father Jun Flores, who

has gone into hiding for fear of his life.Then on the 17th of March 66 year old Victor Tataben Concepcion, an active

supporter of the strike, was shot dead outside his home.

The final murder of 2005 in Hacienda Luisita occurred on the 15th of October, when

Florentine Collante, a vocal critic of Noynoy Aquino and the Cojuangco family was assassinated, again by gunfire. The moodinside the Hacienda through 2005 was one of fear and suspicion. Barangay officials undertook what security measures they

could including the banning of motorcyclists wearing helmets and bandannas obscuring their Identification, this was due to the

fact that most attacks were by motorcyclists. Signs like the one pictured above were put up throughout the Barangays of the

Hacienda and remain to this day (the above picture was taken in April 2012).However the security measures did not stop the

carnage. On the 17th of March, 2006, Tirso Cruz, the ULWU leader who led the protests against the incursion of the Subic,

Clark, Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), known locally as the Noynoy Superhighway, on Hacienda Luisita land, was shot to

death in front of his father and brother.The bloodbath concluded with the murder of Bishop Alberto Ramento, supporter of the

Hacienda Luisita workers and vocal critic of the prior priest killing. He was stabbed 7 times by his assailants.To this day and in

spite of eye witness identification in two of these events, no charges have ever been filed against anyone in relation to any of

these crimes.

The 2005 Supreme Court Decision

The original petition the farm workers submitted lay dormant at the DAR since it was filed in December 2003, but began to

move after the November 2004 massacre. The DARs Task Force Luisita conducted an investigation and focus group

discussions among the farm workers, between the 25th of November 2004 and the 22nd of February, 2005.

In July 2005 the Cojuangco Aquinos open door to Malacanang Palace slammed shut, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

was angered that her former supporter, Cory Aquino, had joined the growing number of anti-Arroyo demonstrators, who were

alleging large scale corruption and plunder, as well as election fraud in the 2004 election against the President. The Arroyo-Aquino alliance broke up on the same month Task Force Luisita submitted the findings and recommendations from its

investigation, which became the Governments basis for revoking Luisitas Stock Distribution Option (SDO) and ordering the

distribution of the Haciendas land to the farmers a few months later.

A special legal team was formed by the DAR in August 2005, to review the report submitted by Task Force Luisita. On

September the 22nd, 2005, Task Force Luisita recommended the revocation of the stock distribution agreement forged in May

1989, saying the SDO failed to fulfill the objectives of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law in regard to promoting socia

justice and improving the lives of the farmers. So on the 22nd of December, 2005, PARC issued Resolution No. 2005-32-01

ordering the revocation of Luisitas SDO agreement and the distribution of the Haciendas land to farmer beneficiaries.In

response to that ruling, HLI petitioned the Supreme Court (SC) to prevent the PARC from enforcing the resolution on the 1st of

February, 2006. The SC granted HLIs petition and issued a temporary restraining order, preventing the PARC from cancelingthe SDO agreement in June of that year.Negotiations between the HLI management and some farmers began in June, 2007, after

representatives of AMBALA (the Luisita peasants group) and the Supervisory group wrote to DAR that they are amenable to an

out-of-court settlement.

The Presidency of Benigno Noynoy S Aquino III

Nonoy Aquino

Senator Noynoy Aquino launched his Presidential Campaign in Tarlac on the 9th of February ,2010. During his speach in his

family seat he made a commitment that Hacienda Luisita lands would be distributed to small farmers by 2014. Noynoy won the

Presidential election on a largely anti-corruption platform and was sworn into office as the 15th President of the Philippines on

June 30th, 2010.


10/17

On the 6th of August that year HLI and factions of farmers groups signed a compromise agreement giving the farmers the

chance to remain as HLI stockholders, or receive their share of Hacienda Luisita land. Many voted to retain their stocks and

receive cash from HLI, only to complain later that they got minuscule amounts.

This petition was countered on the 16th of August HLI petitioned the Supreme Court to approve the compromise deal on the

11th of August. but a faction of the farmers groups who asked the SC to junk the compromise deal because it was signed

before the SC had ruled on the validity of the stock distribution option (SDO), one of the two choices offered by HLI to the

farmers in the agreement (the other choice was land distribution). The rival faction also questioned the authority of thesignatories in the agreement to represent the plantations farmer-beneficiaries.

On the 18th of August, 2010, for the first time since the dispute was elevated to the SC in 2006, oral arguments on the Hacienda

Luisita case were heard.

The SC, in a landmark decision on July the 5th, 2011, upheld the PARCs order revoking HLI.s 1989 stock distribution plan.

Under the plan is the stock distribution option agreement that allowed farmers to pick between shares of stock and land. The SC

also ordered the DAR to administer the conduct of another referendum in which the 6,296 qualified farm worker beneficiaries

can vote whether they want to remain HLI stockholders or receive actual land.

The SC said that while the stock distribution plan is nullified, the qualified farmer beneficiaries must still be given the option to

choose if they want to remain as stockholders or not.

In summation the SC said, While the assailed PARC resolutions effectively nullifying the Hacienda Luisita SDP are upheld,

the revocation must, by application of the operative fact principle, give way to the right of the original 6,296 qualified FWBs to

choose whether they want to remain as HLI stockholders or not. The Court cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that in 1989, 93%

of the FWBs agreed to the SDOA, which became the basis of the SDP approved by PARC.

After this decision farmers groups intensified protests, while the Aquino

Administrationconcentrated on the Arroyo Administration corruption issue. Through July of 2011, farmers groups set up a

camp outside of the DAR Offices in Quezon City. Calls

Protesters demonstrating against the proposed third referendum on the Hacienda in 2011. Photo courtesy ofBullatlat

were made for the DAR to reject the SC order to conduct another referendum. Claims of bribery and coercion were madeagainst the Cojuangcos. UMA (agricultural union) Chair and ULWU President Lito Bais, claimed that HLI supervisor Juanito

Luna,was paying P5,000 ($116) to each farmer. Bais said the Cojuangco-Aquinos are now using the Supreme Court decision to

sow disunity in Hacienda Luisita.

President Aquinos uncle Jose Peping Cojuangco Jr., summoned the heads of the 10 barangays of Hacienda Luisita.

Cojuangco had previously made the charge that outsiders and leftists are stirring controversy over the High Courts decision

Cojuangco said that he was dismayed by the declaration of farmers groups that the sprawling sugar plantation in Tarlac should

be distributed to them via agrarian reform despite the high courts ruling.Who are these people but outsiders and leftists

Theyre the ones who want to bring President Aquino down and destabilize our country, he was quoted by the media.

On the 20th of July AMBALA filed a motion for reconsideration, on the Supreme Court decision ordering the Department ofAgrarian Reform to hold a referendum in Hacienda Luisita and allow the farmers to choose between owning shares of stocks or

land parcels. In asking the SC to reverse its decision, the AMBALA said, there is no reason for the Court to declare that the

Stock Distribution Option Agreement (SDOA) was not revoked and that it was only the Stock Distribution Plan (SDP) and

Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) resolution approving it that was canceled.

On the 28th of July farmers groups led by AMBALA spokesperson Rodel Mesa, called on the newly appointed ombudsman,

retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, to reopen the Luisita Massacre case. Mesa said that after

seven years, not a single government or armed forces official has been held liable for the massacre and or for the injuries

sustained by hundreds of others when elements strongly suspected of being members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
http://www.bulatlat.com/http://www.bulatlat.com/


11/17

(AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) opened fire on the farmworkers manning the picket line in front of the sugar

mill Central Azucarera de Tarlac. The farmworkers were at the time holding a strike demanding that the management led by

President Benigno Aquino IIIs Cojuangco relatives proceed with negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and

reinstate almost 320 members and newly elected United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU) officials who were fired for

participating in the strike.

On the 24th ofNovember the SC released its decision on the farmers petition for reconsideration. Voting 14-0, the SC granted

their petition and unanimously ordered the distribution of 4,916 hectares of Hacienda Luisita lands to the original 4,296 origina

farmworker beneficiaries (FWBs). It modified its July 5, 2011 ruling ordering the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) tohold a referendum to let the Luisita farmers choose between owning shares of stocks in Hacienda Luisita Inc. or getting portions

of the more than 6,000-hectare estate.

After the SC issued itsruling President Aquino said there should be just compensation for the land owners. When asked by

media to react on the SC decision, Aquino said, In agrarian reform, there are two objectives: number one, empower the farmers

so that they could have their own land to till. Second, dont exhaust the capital. There should be just compensation for the land

owner. The capital that will be returned to the landowner could be used to invest in other endeavors.

HLI, whilst saying that they would adhere to the SC decision filed an injunction seeking compensation at 2006 prices, as

opposed to the 1989 land prices specified in the ruling. In essence HLI were seeking compensation of around P 10 billion.

President Aquino, speaking on behalf of HLI asserted that this request for compensation was for the benefit of all stock holderswhich was inclusive of the farmers who had taken up shares in the company under the SDO.

On the 24th of April, 2012, as the impeachment trial of SC Chief Justice Renato Corona was taking place in the Senate. The SC

ruled in finality, confirming their November 24th ,2011, decision that the land be distributed to the farmers with

compensation at November the 21st ,1989, prices.

On the 29th of May, 2012, Renato Corona, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was found guilty in his impeachment trial, by

Senate, convened as an impeachment court. Corona was deemed to be guilty of Article 2 of the initial 8 articles of impeachmen

(5 of the 8 articles of impeachment were withdrawn by the prosecution on the 29th of February, of the remaining 3, 2 were

directly concerned with impartiality in regard to former President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo), betrayal of public trust and /or

culpable violation of the constitution on the second article of impeachment, that he failed to disclosed to the public hisstatement of assets, liabilities and net worth as required under the constitution. In spite of Coronas legal argument, thatthis

issue concerned his non-declaration of US Dollar accounts, which were exempt from disclosure under legislation passed in

1973, which he claimed to still be valid as his dollar holdings represented investment accounts that he and his wife had initiated

in 1967.

The Corona impeachment had been launched under the Aquino governmen ts supposed pursuit of justice for the reported

crimes, corruption and abuses linked to former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Corona is known as a staunch political ally

of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. His career and wealth reportedly flourished under Arroyo, culminating in his being named as

Supreme Court Justice in the last few weeks of Arroyos disputed term, and after the 2010 poll, in what is known in the

Philippines as a midnight appointment.

The National Union of Peoples Lawyers (NUPL) said Filipinos had supported the impeachment complaint against Corona

primarily because they view Corona as a hindrance in the peoples drive to hold Arroyo accountable for her crimes against the

people. Secretary General of the NUPL, Edra Olalia stated that Afterthe failed attempt to smuggle Arroyo out of the country

through an arbitrarily issued temporary restraining order on the hold departure order issued by the Department of Justice agains

Arroyo, the people called and sought for an independent Supreme Court and a pro-people judiciary. As the impeachmen

unfolded, critics such as the NUPL noted that for Aquino, the impeachment is apparentlynot so much about Coronas

subservience to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo nor his role and influence in the Supreme Courts alleged accommodation of Arroyo

as it is about Hacienda Luisita.


12/17

WIKIPEDIA

Spanish era

Hacienda Luisita was once part of the holdings of Compaa General de Tabacos de Filipinas,[2]

Sociedad Annima, better

known asTabacalera, which was founded on 26 November 1881 by a Spaniard, Antonio Lpez y Lpez

fromComillas,Cantabria and , Don Guillermo Rubio born inSantander, Cantabria.He was the firstMarques de Comillasand

was an associate of the first Spanish Prime Minister with foreign blood, theSpanish-Filipino mestizo DonMarcelo Azcrraga yPalmero.

His relative on his Spanish side, Ricardo Padilla, married Gloria Zbel y Montojo (younger half sister of Mercedes Zbel de

Ayala de McMicking, largest Zbel owner in the Ayala group of companies) and was an aide-de-camp ofJuan de Borbn

Count of Barcelona, father of the King of Spain, His Majesty DonJuan Carlos de todos los Santos de Borbn y Borbn-Dos

Sicilias.

The estate was named after Antonio's wife, Luisa Bru y Lasss.

Their son, Claudio Lpez, the second to hold the title, donated some of the profits to the Jesuits to create the Pontifica

University of Comillas,a university outsideMadrid.Lpez acquired the estate in 1882, a year before his death. Lpez was afinancial genius

[according to whom?] who parlayed his work in Cuba and Latin America into steamship companies and trading

businesses. He was the most influential Spanish businessman of his generation[according to whom?]

and counted the Prime Minister

and theKing of Spain as his personal friends. Tabacalera was a private enterprise he founded with the sole intention of taking

over the Philippine Tobacco Monopoly from the Spanish colonial government. This included the Hacienda Antonio (named

after his eldest son), Hacienda San Fernando and Hacienda Isabel (named after his eldest daughter)

inCagayn andIsabelaprovinces where the legendaryLa Flor de Isabela cigar was cultivated. Tabacaleras incorporators were

the Sociedad General de Crdito Inmobiliario Espaol, Banque de Paris which is now Paribas and Bank of the Netherlands

which is nowABN-AMRO.The sugar and tobacco in the Philippines were the reason why the Lpez de Comillas family were

able to donate such a huge pontifical university to the Jesuits on top of lavishing on their home, the Palacio de

Sobrellano inComillas and the Gell park (designed byGaud)inBarcelona.

Don Alfonso Gell y Martos born in 1958, the fourth Marquis of Comillas, currently holds the title. He is also the Count of San

Pedro de Ruiseada, the third to hold that title. Both aregrandee status in Spain and as such can address the King as "mi primo"

or "my cousin."

American period

Spanish-owned Hacienda Luisita did not languish when the Americans took full control of the Philippine government.

Tabacalera as a whole experienced prosperous times. With Cuban sugar not enough for the American market, American

companies turned to the Philippines for sugarcane. At one point, Hacienda Luisita supplied almost 20% of all sugar in the

United States. Luisita sugar became popular among Filipino (specificallyIlocano) expatriates in America just as much as

Victorias sugar was popular among Manilas elite circles.

Americans brought the centrifugal-based machinery which doubled the production of the estate and therefore did not require the

cane to be loaded onto a truck toLaguna to be squeezed in the haciendas there, including those of the Roxas andZbel families

As this new technology swept Luzon and the sugar mills consolidated, many wealthy families lost their land or combined their

resources. Some like Honorio Ventura (who paid forDiosdado Macapagals schooling), the De Lens, Urquicos, Lazatns and

the Gonzlez did just that--- which is how PASUDECO came into being. Structurally, there was little change in the hacienda;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compa%C3%B1%C3%ADa_General_de_Tabacos_de_Filipinashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacienda_Luisita#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacienda_Luisita#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacienda_Luisita#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabacalerahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comillashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantabriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santander,_Cantabriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marques_de_Comillashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_settlement_in_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcelo_Azc%C3%A1rraga_y_Palmerohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcelo_Azc%C3%A1rraga_y_Palmerohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_de_Borb%C3%B3nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carloshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifical_University_of_Comillashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifical_University_of_Comillashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madridhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Spainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cagay%C3%A1nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabela_(province)http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=La_Flor_de_Isabela&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paribashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABN-AMROhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palacio_de_Sobrellano&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palacio_de_Sobrellano&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comillashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaud%C3%ADhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelonahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandeehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilocano_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laguna_(province)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C3%B3bel_de_Ayala_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diosdado_Macapagalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diosdado_Macapagalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diosdado_Macapagalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C3%B3bel_de_Ayala_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laguna_(province)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilocano_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandeehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelonahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaud%C3%ADhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comillashttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palacio_de_Sobrellano&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palacio_de_Sobrellano&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABN-AMROhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paribashttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=La_Flor_de_Isabela&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabela_(province)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cagay%C3%A1nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Spainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madridhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifical_University_of_Comillashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifical_University_of_Comillashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carloshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_de_Borb%C3%B3nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcelo_Azc%C3%A1rraga_y_Palmerohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcelo_Azc%C3%A1rraga_y_Palmerohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_settlement_in_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marques_de_Comillashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santander,_Cantabriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantabriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comillashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabacalerahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacienda_Luisita#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compa%C3%B1%C3%ADa_General_de_Tabacos_de_Filipinas


13/17

Tabacalera y Compaa positioned Spanish-Filipino andAmerican-Filipinoencargadosand administradoresto manage the vas

estate.

Japanese regime

Like all haciendas and tabacaleras in the Philippines, the Hacienda Luisita continued to operate during the Japanese occupation

The Japanese were bent on ensuring that commodities such as sugar and rice be made available to the majority of the Filipinos

therefore avoiding any tempers of additional insurgencies and guerilla movements. The Spanish-Filipino administrators simply

placed their subordinates, Japanese journeymen (who, like many impoverished Chinese immigrants fromFujian fled south to

the Philippines for a better life) and Korean stevedores working as machinists in the centrifugal system, to the helm. This kept

both the Japanese and the Spanish in good terms as both their interests were protected. As a matter of fact, even before World

War II, theTabacalera had in their pay-roll a good number of Japanese migrant workers doing odd jobs around Hacienda

Luisita. (Before 1942, the Philippines was a first class colony in Asia while Hong Kong andSingapore were poor

cities;Tokyo and Japan as a whole was relatively closed from the outside world then). When the Japanese Imperial Army

marched into the country, these lowly migrant workers became valuable translators and managers.

MacArthur Headquarters

In conjunction with re-taking the Philippines from the Japanese, on 25 January 1945 General Douglas MacArthur moved hisadvanced headquarters forward to Hacienda Luisita.

Jos Cojuangco period

In the 1950s, the onset of theHukbalahap rebellion led the Spanish owners of Tabacalera to sell Hacienda Luisita and the sugar

millCentral Azucarera de Tarlac.Ramn Magsaysay,then president of the Philippines, blocked the sale of the plantation to the

eager and wealthy Lpez of Ilolo. During those times the brothers Fernando Lpez andEugenio Lpez as well as their cousins

were one of the wealthiest in all of the Visayas Islands, save for a fewChinese Filipino families inCeb andLeyte,as well as

the Familias Aliadas de Villegas, Teves, Lpez, y Rodrguez (a family with origins from Santander, Galicia, & Asturias; as wel

as China - Teves). Fearing the Lpez might become too powerful after already owning Meralco,Negros Navigation,Manila

Chronicle,ABS-CBN, various haciendas inWestern Visayas and then the nearby PASUMIL consortium in de

Carmen,Pampanga that they purchased from the Americans, the President offered the property to Jos Cojuangco, nicknamed

"Pepe" through Magsaysay protg and Cojuangco's son-in-law,Benigno Aquino. Magsaysay also knew the Cojuangcos

through his wife, Luz, of the prosperousBanzns, an oldChinese Filipino family. Unfortunately, PresidentRamn

Magsaysay died in Mount Manunggal,Ceb in 1957.

The sale was consummated in PresidentCarlos P. Garcas term, a close ally of then SenatorFerdinand Marcos and five years

from the day President Magsaysay offered the land. The Jos Cojuangcos were wealthy in land and bank holdings and in

Philippine pesos. They were not wealthy in United States dollars which was closely regulated then by the Philippine Central

Bank. In fact, Pepe and his wife Metring were not able to send Pepes younger brother Eduardo Sr. (Danding Cojuangcos

father) to the United States for treatment for the mere fact that they could not exchange their pesos to dollars. Eduardo Sr or

Endeng Lalake later died of kidney failure.

TheJos Cojuangcos acquired the property in 1958 through a loan from theGovernment Service Insurance System and a dollar

loan from theManufacturers Trust Company ofNew York,which was guaranteed by theCentral Bank of the Philippines,with

consent fromMiguel Cuaderno,its governor. Pepe also reduced his stake in the Paniqui Sugar Mills, though he and his cousins

still managed it on behalf of his aunt, Ysidra Cojuangco, the matriarch. Hacienda Luisita was the largest investment he ever

made.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American-Filipinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American-Filipinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabacalerahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Konghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singaporehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hukbalahaphttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Central_Azucarera_de_Tarlac&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram%C3%B3n_Magsaysayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_L%C3%B3pezhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eugenio_L%C3%B3pez&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Filipinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceb%C3%BAhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leytehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meralcohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negros_Navigationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_Chroniclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_Chroniclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABS-CBNhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Visayashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pampangahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jos%C3%A9_Cojuangco&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benigno_Aquino,_Jr.http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Banz%C3%B3n&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Filipinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram%C3%B3n_Magsaysayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram%C3%B3n_Magsaysayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceb%C3%BAhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_P._Garc%C3%ADahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_P._Garc%C3%ADahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Marcoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danding_Cojuangcohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danding_Cojuangcohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danding_Cojuangcohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jos%C3%A9_Cojuangco&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Service_Insurance_System_(Philippines)http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manufacturers%C2%B4_Trust_Company&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Yorkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Bank_of_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_Cuadernohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_Cuadernohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Bank_of_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Yorkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manufacturers%C2%B4_Trust_Company&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Service_Insurance_System_(Philippines)http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jos%C3%A9_Cojuangco&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danding_Cojuangcohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Marcoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_P._Garc%C3%ADahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceb%C3%BAhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram%C3%B3n_Magsaysayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram%C3%B3n_Magsaysayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Filipinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Banz%C3%B3n&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benigno_Aquino,_Jr.http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jos%C3%A9_Cojuangco&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pampangahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Visayashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABS-CBNhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_Chroniclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_Chroniclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negros_Navigationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meralcohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leytehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceb%C3%BAhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Filipinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eugenio_L%C3%B3pez&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_L%C3%B3pezhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram%C3%B3n_Magsaysayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Central_Azucarera_de_Tarlac&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hukbalahaphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singaporehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Konghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabacalerahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American-Filipino


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With the ink barely dry, he appointed not his eldest son Pedro but his son-in-lawBenigno Aquino Jr as administrator. Pepe and

Ninoy introduced an almost social welfare state: free medicines and check up, scholarships to colleges, free education, free food

and equitable shares to the harvest, free child care and nutrition, free burials, a village with housing earmarked for the farmers

even free gasoline to the tractoras. Like the Paniqui Sugar Mills, not a single workers strike was instigated during their

administration. Pepe barely made any money from the Hacienda Luisita. Understanding that the value of the Luisita is in the

farmers who till it, he chose to rehabilitate the Filipinos who before were almost slaves under the Tabacalera. He was able to

sustain these losses due in part of his other more money making investments in theBank of Commerce and First ManilaManagement which owned the Pantranco buses and the Mantrade group.

Marcos period

In 1965,INC members who are workers are evicted by Luisita Worker's Union after disputes in promotions.They are resettled in

Nueva Ecija.AsFerdinand Marcos was elected for a second term in 1969, the reverse happened to Pepe. AtBank of Commerce

where he and his brother Juan "Itoy" Cojuangco and nephewsRamon Cojuangco (later ofPLDT; son of brotherAntonio

Cojuangco Sr) andDanding Cojuangco (eldest son of deceased brother Eduardo Cojuangco Sr) each owned equitable stakes

the last three factions planned a coup d etat by toppling him from the presidency of the said bank. The three did not want Pedro

(Pepes first born) to be bank president which was against the aging Pepes wishes. To avoid a scandal, Pepe Cojuangco sold his

remaining shares in Bank of Commerce, almost equal to 28%, to his relatives. Thus Pepe lost his one of eventually three

lifelines in nurturing the Hacienda Luisita.

As the 1970s crept in and immediately afterBenigno Aquino Jr imprisonment for treason, murder, subversion and weapons

possession, Pepes business empire began to wane. He was unable to purchase new machines and new technology for the aging

sugar mill that stands in the middle of the estate because of the governments refusal to Pantrancos appeals for higher charges

as compared to its competitors who have since been permitted so. Business critics believed it was Marcoss way of pressuring

Pepe to influence his son-in-law from attacking him and his wife, First Lady Imelda Marcos(who recently built theCultura

Center of the Philippines and whom Ninoy labeled as the newEvita Peron). His close business associate in First Manila

Management of the Pantranco / Nissan Philippines / Mantrade fame, Manuel Lopa, died in 1974. With his death, the FMMC-

Mantrade companies lost their immunity from the Marcoses (Manuel was a close personal friend of Speaker Daniel Romuldez

Imelda's uncle). Ambassador Benjamin Romualdez, brother of Imelda, then coerced Pepe and his son-in-law, Ricardo "Baby"

Lopa (Manuels son) into selling the collection of 38 companies under First Manila Management to him. Baby and his wife

Teresita Cojuangco, together with Pepe and the rest of the Lopa heirs, had no choice but to sell. The second lifeline disappeared

with this extortion.

In 1976,First United Bank, the banking concern Pepe built on his own after his ouster from the family ownedBank o

Commerce which he saved from bankruptcy decades ago, was sold for an amicable amount to his nephew,Danding Cojuangco

who was then close to President Marcos, with both mothers being Ilocanas notwithstanding. The poorest branch of the

Cojuangcos, the Eduardo branch, has become the richest through the sheer genius of Danding. Though this third lifelinedisappeared in good terms, the Jos Cojuangcos were left with nothing but a half-rehabilitated and barely earningwhite

elephant of a hacienda. Practically all of his farm workers mourned his death. Many flooded his funeral Mass to see him off.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benigno_Aquino_Jrhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Commercehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Marcoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Commercehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ramon_Cojuangco&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLDThttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Antonio_Cojuangco&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Antonio_Cojuangco&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danding_Cojuangcohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benigno_Aquino_Jrhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imelda_Marcoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Center_of_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Center_of_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evita_Peronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_United_Bankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Commercehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Commercehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danding_Cojuangcohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephanthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephanthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephanthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephanthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danding_Cojuangcohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Commercehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Commercehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_United_Bankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evita_Peronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Center_of_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Center_of_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imelda_Marcoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benigno_Aquino_Jrhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danding_Cojuangcohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Antonio_Cojuangco&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Antonio_Cojuangco&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLDThttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ramon_Cojuangco&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Commercehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Marcoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Commercehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benigno_Aquino_Jr


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THE CASE DIGEST OF ISSUES

On July 5, 2011, the Supreme Court en banc voted unanimously (11-0) to DISMISS/DENY the petition filed by HLI

and AFFIRM with MODIFICATIONS the resolutions of the PARC revoking HLIs Stock Distribution Plan (SDP) and placing

the subject lands in Hacienda Luisita under compulsory coverage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) of

the government.

The Court however did not order outright land distribution. Voting 6-5, the Court noted that there are operative facts

that occurred in the interim and which the Court cannot validly ignore. Thus, the Court declared that the revocation of the SDP

must, by application of the operative fact principle, give way to the right of the original 6,296 qualified farmworkers-

beneficiaries (FWBs) to choose whether they want to remain as HLI stockholders or [choose actual land distribution]. It thus

ordered the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to immediately schedule meetings with the said 6,296 FWBs and explain

to them the effects, consequences and legal or practical implications of their choice, after which the FWBs will be asked to

manifest, in secret voting, their choices in the ballot, signing their signatures or placing their thumbmarks, as the case may be,

over their printed names.

The parties thereafter filed their respective motions for reconsideration of the Court decision.

II. THE ISSUES

1) Is the operative fact doctrine available in this case?

2) Is Sec. 31 of RA 6657 unconstitutional?

3) Cant the Court order that DARs compulsory acquisition of Hacienda Lusita cover the full 6,443 hectares allegedly covered by

RA 6657 and previously held by Tarlac Development Corporation (Tadeco), and not just the 4,915.75 hectares covered by

HLIs SDP?

4) Is the date of the taking (for purposes of determining the just compensation payable to HLI) November 21, 1989, when PARC

approved HLIs SDP?

5) Has the 10-year period prohibition on the transfer of awarded lands under RA 6657 lapsed on May 10, 1999 (since Hacienda

Luisita were placed under CARP coverage through the SDOA scheme on May 11, 1989), and thus the qualified FWBs should

now be allowed to sell their land interests in Hacienda Luisita to third parties, whether they have fully paid for the lands or not?

6) THE CRUCIAL ISSUE: Should the ruling in the July 5, 2011 Decision that the qualified FWBs be given an option to remain

as stockholders of HLI be reconsidered?

III. THE RULING

[The Court PARTIALL Y GRANTEDthe motions for reconsideration of respondents PARC, et al. with respect to the

option granted to the original farmworkers-beneficiaries (FWBs) of Hacienda Luisita to remain with petitioner HLI, which

option the Court thereby RECALLEDand SET ASIDE. It reconsidered its earlier decision that the qualified FWBs should be

given an option to remain as stockholders of HLI, and UNANIMOUSLY directed immediate land distribution to the qualified

FWBs.]

1. YES, the operative fact doctr ine is applicable in thi s case.

[The Court maintained its stance that the operative fact doctrine is applicable in this case since, contrary to the

suggestion of the minority, the doctrine is not limited only to invalid or unconstitutional laws but also applies to decisions made

by the President or the administrative agencies that have the force and effect of laws. Prior to the nullification or recall of said


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decisions, they may have produced acts and consequences that must be respected. It is on this score that the operative fact

doctrine should be applied to acts and consequences that resulted from the implementation of the PARC Resolution approving

the SDP of HLI. The majority stressed that the application of the operative fact doctrine by the Court in its July 5, 2011

decision was in fact favorable to the FWBs because not only were they allowed to retain the benefits and homelots they received

under the stock distribution scheme, they were also given the option to choose for themselves whether they want to remain as

stockholders of HLI or not.]

2. NO, Sec. 31 of RA 6657 NOT unconstitutional .

[The Court maintained that the Court is NOT compelled to rule on the constitutionality of Sec. 31 of RA 6657,

reiterating that it was not raised at the earl iest opportun ityand that the resolution thereof is not the li s motaof the case

Moreover, the issue has been rendered moot and academicsince SDO is no longer one of the modes of acquisition under RA

9700. The majority clarified that in its July 5, 2011 decision, it made no ruling in favor of the constitutionality of Sec. 31 of RA

6657, but found nonetheless that there was no apparent grave violation of the Constitution that may justify the resolution of the

issue of constitutionality.]

3. NO, the Court CANNOT order that DARs compulsory acquisiti on of Hacienda Lusita cover the fu ll 6,443 hectares and no

just the 4,915.75 hectares covered by HLIs SDP.

[Since what is put in issue before the Court is the propriety of the revocation of the SDP, which only involves 4,915.75

has. of agricultural land and not 6,443 has., then the Court is constrained to rule only as regards the 4,915.75 has. of

agricultural land.Nonetheless, this should not prevent the DAR, under its mandate under the agrarian reform law, from

subsequently subjecting to agrarian reform other agricultural lands originally held by Tadeco that were allegedly no

transferred to HLI but were supposedly covered by RA 6657.

However since the area to be awarded to each FWB in the July 5, 2011 Decision appears too restrictiveconsidering

that there are roads, irrigation canals, and other portions of the land that are considered commonly-owned by farmworkers,

and these may necessarily result in the decrease of the area size that may be awarded per FWB the Court reconsiders its

Decision and resolves to give the DAR leeway in adjusting the area that may be awarded per FWB in case the number of actua

qualified FWBs decreases. In order to ensure the proper distribution of the agricultural lands of Hacienda Luisita per qualified

FWB, and considering that matters involving strictly the administrative implementation and enforcement of agrarian reform

laws are within the jurisdiction of the DAR,it is the latter which shall determine the area with which each qualified FWB will

be awarded.

On the other hand, the majority likewise reiterated its holding that the 500-hectare portion of Hacienda Luisita that

have been validly converted to industrial use and have been acquired by intervenors Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation

(RCBC) and Luisita Industrial Park Corporation (LIPCO), as well as the separate 80.51-hectare SCTEX lot acquired by the

government, should be excluded from the coverage of the assailed PARC resolution. The Court however ordered that the

unused balance of the proceeds of the sale of the 500-hectare converted land and of the 80.51-hectare land used for the SCTEX

be distributed to the FWBs.]

4. YES, the date of taking is November 21, 1989, when PARC approved HLIs SDP.

[For the purpose of determining just compensation, the date of taking is November 21, 1989 (thedate when PARC

approved HLIs SDP) since 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, on November 21, 1989. Such approval is akin to a notice of coverage

ordinarily issued under compulsory acquisition. On the contention of the minority (Justice Sereno) that the date of the notice of
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coverage [after PARCs revocation of the SDP], that is, January 2, 2006, is determinative of the just compensation that HLI is

entitled to receive, the Court majority noted that none of the cases cited to justify this position involved the stock distribution

scheme. Thus, said cases do not squarely apply to the instant case. The foregoing notwithstanding, it bears stressing that the

DAR's land valuation is only preliminary and is not, by any means, final and conclusive upon the landowner. The landowner

can file an original action with the RTC acting as a special agrarian court to determine just compensation. The court has the

right to review with finality the determination in the exercise of what is admittedly a judicial function.]

5. NO, the 10-year peri od prohibiti on on the transfer of awarded lands under RA 6657 has NOT lapsed on May 10, 1999; thusthe qualif ied FWBs should NOT yet be allowed to sell their land interests in H acienda Luisita to th ir d parties.

[Under RA 6657 and DAO 1, the awarded lands may only be transferred or conveyed after 10 years from

the issuance and registration of the emancipation patent (EP) or certificate of land ownership award (CLOA). Considering tha

the EPs or CLOAs have not yet been issued to the qualified FWBs in the instant case, the 10-year prohibitive period has not

even started. Significantly, the reckoning point is the issuance of the EP or CLOA, and not the placing of the agricultural lands

under CARP coverage. Moreover, should the FWBs be immediately allowed the option to sell or convey their interest in the

subject lands, then all efforts at agrarian reform would be rendered nugatory, since, at the end of the day, these lands will jus

be transferred to persons not entitled to land distribution under CARP.]

6. YES, the ru li ng in the July 5, 2011 Decision that the qualif ied FWBs be given an option to remain as stockholders of H LI

should be reconsidered.

[The Court reconsidered its earlier decision that the qualified FWBs should be given an option to remain as

stockholders of HLI, inasmuch as these qualified FWBs will never gain control [over the subject lands] given the presen

proportion of shareholdings in HLI. The Court noted that the share of the FWBs in the HLI capital stock is [just] 33.296%

Thus, even if all the holders of this 33.296% unanimously vote to remain as HLI stockholders, which is unlikely, control wil

never be in the hands of the FWBs. Control means the majority of [sic] 50% plus at least one share of the common shares and

other voting shares. Applying the formula to the HLI stockholdings, the number of shares that will constitute the majority is

295,112,101 shares (590,554,220 total HLI capital shares divided by 2 plus one [1] HLI share). The 118,391,976.85 shares

subject to the SDP approved by PARC substantially fall short of the 295,112,101 shares needed by the FWBs to acquire contro

over HLI.]

why named luisita

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