Landbank issues clarification on Hacienda Luisita compensation ruling
MANILA, Philippines – The Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) on Thursday clarified its position regarding the recent Court of Appeals (CA) decision that orders a P28.49 billion just compensation payment to Hacienda Luisita, Inc. (HLI).
READ: CA orders gov’t to pay P28.48 billion to Hacienda Luisita
In a statement, Landbank said it has been dropped as a party respondent in the case and that the financial obligation falls to the national government’s Agrarian Reform Fund (ARF), administered by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).
“Landbank wishes to clarify that the Bank was dropped as a party respondent to the just compensation case [of Hacienda Luisita] by the Court of Appeals in its decision on April 30, 2024,” it said in a statement.
It added that the Court of Appeals, in its April 30 2024 ruling “explicitly removed the bank as a party respondent in the just
compensation case.”
It said the latest Court of Appeals decision ordering the payment of P28.49 billion in just compensation to HLI “is chargeable against the Agrarian Reform Fund (ARF).”
ARF is owned by the national government and administered by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).
The recent Court of Appeals ruling ordering the payment of over P28 billion to HLI is chargeable against the ARF.
Landbank said its role in the process is “solely as the custodian of the ARF, responsible for executing disbursement instructions
provided by the DAR.
This clarification aims to distinguish its administrative function from direct liability for the compensation amount.”
“If sustained by the CA, DAR may elevate the case to the Supreme Court,” Landbank said.
