TARLAKENYO (June 19, 2025) — The Court of Appeals (CA) has ordered the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and Land Bank of the Philippines to pay Hacienda Luisita, Inc. (HLI) P28.49 billion as just compensation for land distributed to farmers under the agrarian reform program.
The 35-page CA ruling, dated April 25, 2025, but released only yesterday, has reignited discussions on whether the long-disputed payment will finally benefit the farmers and residents of the sugar estate.
The CA said HLI established that the land value was P1.029 billion, which should serve as the base amount for just compensation, excluding interest and other possible entitlements.
As a result, the CA ruled that the total just compensation due to HLI, as of April 30, 2025, amounts to P28.49 billion and is “more equitable and fair computation of just compensation as it factors in various considerations affecting the value, not only of the property at the time of taking, but also of the amount which could have accrued to the aggrieved landowner’s benefit.”
Hacienda Luisita, a 6,453-hectare sugar plantation — of which only 4,500 has. is subject to this ruling — is owned by the family of the late President Benigno Aquino III, and has been at the center of agrarian reform disputes since the 1980s. In 2012, the Supreme Court ordered the distribution of the land to the 6,296 farmworker-beneficiaries (FWBs).
Eleven barangays from three towns of Tarlac comprise the plantation — barangays Balete, Cutcut, Lourdes, Central, Mapalacsiao, Asturias, and Bantog in Tarlac City; barangays Parang, Mabilog, and Pando in Concepcion town; and barangay Motrico in La Paz town.
While the legal victory is seen as a clear win for HLI, the farmers and residents remain uncertain about how the payout will affect them.
“We were promised land and fair support, but many of us still struggle,” said a farmer and FWB in Kapampangan, declining to be identified.
Some FWBs fear that the compensation could lead to further neglect of their needs, as past disputes have left many without adequate farming support, and other residents are being evicted from their own houses. Others hope that part of the payment will be used to fund agricultural programs, infrastructure, and social services in the area.
DAR and the Land Bank have yet to confirm whether they will appeal the decision.
As the legal process continues, the farmers of Hacienda Luisita wait to see if this ruling will bring them the justice and economic stability they have long fought for.
