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The case stems from the additional compensation Hacienda Luisita sought from the government in relation to the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
MANILA, Philippines – The Court of Appeals (CA) has ordered the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) to pay Hacienda Luisita P28.888 billion pesos as additional compensation for land use.
“WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Petition for Review is GRANTED. The Decision dated 15 February 2023 and Resolution dated 11 August 2023 of the Regional Trial, acting as Special Agrarian Court (RTC-SAC) of Tarlac City, Branch 63 in Civil Case No. 417-2015 are REVERSED and SET ASIDE. Respondents are ordered to pay petitioner the total amount of Php 28,488,944,278.71 as just compensation as of 30 April 2025, without prejudice to the accrual of interest until fully paid,” the CA’s Special Twelfth Division said in its April 25 ruling.
Associate Justice Raymond Reynold Lauigan penned the decision, with concurrences from Associate Justice Marie Christine Azcarraga Jacob and Associate Justice Ferdinand Baylon.
The case stemmed from a legal battle by Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) which owns a total of 6,245.6484 hectares of land located in Tarlac City, and La Paz and Concepcion towns also in Tarlac. In 2013, DAR issued notices of land valuation and acquisition to HLI informing it about the coverage of its property under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
Under CARP, the government promised to redistribute private and public agricultural lands to the tillers. State-run Landbank valued the land and determined that around 4,500.7978 hectares of the land was subject to just compensation. The Landbank deposited P304,033,138.26 for compensation, but the HLI rejected the valuations.
The HLI’s challenge reached the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB), which later affirmed Landbank’s decision to pay Hacienda Luisita the said amount. This prompted the petitioner to bring the case to the Regional Trial Court (RTC).
In a decision dated February 15, 2023, Tarlac City RTC Branch 63 dismissed HLI’s petition and upheld the DARAB’s decision that rejected additional compensation for HLI. The court also denied HLI’s appeal in a resolution dated August 11, 2023.
After suffering losses in DARAB and the RTC, HLI later filed a petition for review with appellate court, assailing the RTC’s decision and resolution.
The court’s ruling
In its ruling, the CA special division said it had to settle the issue on whether the RTC erred in its decision and resolution. Particularly, it had to be settled whether the correct amount of just compensation, including interests, had been properly assessed and given to the petitioner.
After its assessment, the CA said the RTC erred in its ruling as it failed to correctly assess and determine the amount that should have been paid to HLI. In particular, the payment should have been “real, substantial, full, ample, just and fair, with due consideration to the factors enumerated under Section 17 of RA (Republic Act No.) 6657, as amended.”
In addition, the CA said HLI should also be compensated “fairly and fully” equivalent to the “loss sustained by it as landowner.”
“In this regard, an examination of the circumstances of the case at bench showed that the RTC-SAC erred when it did not take into account the actual production value in the determination on how much is the correct just compensation due to petitioner HLI and when it simply affirmed the the LBP and DAR’s use of industry standard values in determining the land valuation of the CARP acquired properties,” the court explained.
“To this Court, the pieces of evidence submitted by petitioner are sufficient. Thus, grounded on the Court’s judicial function to determine the correct amount of just compensation, We are convinced that petitioner is entitled to additional amounts as just compensation,” it added. – Rappler.com
