The Last Stand

It is the mandate of the State to promote the equal distribution of wealth among the Filipino people. It is, likewise, the policy of the government to give land to the landless and free the poor and the oppressed farmers from the bonds of their unyielding landlords to the effect that every Filipino farmer may enjoy the fruits of their labor. A farmer who tills the land for the rest of his life and leaves no property to his children but the fact of hard labor is a high form of social injustice. It is an injustice that strikes at the heart of our ideals and aspirations, a prolific sickness that would kill a man’s dream of pursuing happiness.

While it is true that no men are created equal in matters of material wealth and possession, the State must protect the interest of the unheard workforce, especially the farmers, by granting them what is due, in which case the gift would be the transfer of lands into their industrious hands. There is no denial that those who toil the land suffers severe physical stress, emotional trauma, psychological anxiety and, above all, moral pain because the blood and sweat they endure to cultivate the lot and harvest its fruits will only be subject to the disposal of the greedy rich. The latter’s objective is to accumulate wealth and brandish among his colleagues the digits under his account, while that of the former’s sole goal is to feed his hungry children and provide a measly platter of food before his family.

Thus, when an unimaginable unjust enrichment occurs due to this evil scheme, it is the court, who, as the last bastion of justice and equity, hails that the deprived shall receive that which he is entitled, by law and by social fairness. The decision of the Supreme Court, in ordering the distribution of lands owned and controlled by the Hacienda Luisita Incorporated to the farmers, is a manifestation of final justice which has long been overdue.