UPDATE:  Supreme Court orders total land distribution (details)
In two landmark decisions issued on July 5, 2011 and November 23, 2011, the Philippine Supreme Court unanimously voted to revoke the stock distribution agreement of Hacienda Luisita and ordered total land distribution to farmers.

The factual findings enumerated in the full text of the Supreme Court decisions corroborate the key points raised in the GMANews.TV reports on Hacienda Luisita by Stephanie Dychiu that were published in January-April 2010.

The reports were published at the height of the campaign for the May 2010 Philippine presidential elections, during which time various groups attempted to exploit or assail the Hacienda Luisita reports to protect the interests of their favored candidates.  The note below was written in mid-2010 to provide guidance to readers.  

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RELATED REPORTS

(by Miriam Grace Go, Newsbreak)

(by Solita Monsod, 
Philippine Daily Inquirer)

(by Tetch Torres, 
Philippine Daily Inquirer) 

(by Tetch Torres, 
Philippine Daily Inquirer)

(by Norimitsu Onishi, 
New York Times)
A NOTE TO READERS OF THE HACIENDA LUISITA SERIES ON GMANEWS.TV

The Hacienda Luisita series on GMANews.TV elicited strong reactions since its publication began on January 18, 2010.  The release of the New York Times report on the issue on March 15, 2010 further heightened interest in the subject.

Readers are advised to read the complete original texts on GMANews.TV carefully and not rely on excerpted or paraphrased versions of partisan commentators, who may selectively reference only portions that suit their political leanings, or misrepresent the content of the reports to create the illusion of refuting certain facts.

In one instance, a claim was made that the GMANews.TV reports took the book A Captive Land by James Putzel out of context.  This claim was accompanied by heavy annotation.  A simple juxtaposition of the original texts from Putzel’s book and GMANews.TV, however, shows they are consistent with each other.

Dr. James Putzel, currently Professor of Development Studies and Director of the Crisis States Research Centre at the London School of Economics, is a personal friend of GMANews.TV Editor-in-Chief Howie Severino.  Putzel reviewed the GMANews.TV reports as early as January 2010, and subsequently conferred with author Stephanie Dychiu in Manila.  

Dr. James Putzel on the Hacienda Luisita series of GMANews.TV:

"The well-researched series very accurately revealed uncomfortable truths that are difficult to accept, prompting efforts to suppress the story by those who do not want an airing of how elites in the country manipulate the law for their own ends."  

The Hacienda Luisita issue is a complex and evolving controversy with many facets.  GMANews.TV's five-part series lays the background of the issue in an accessible format that has successfully brought the issue of land reform and social justice to a younger generation and to the mainstream.  Further reading is highly encouraged for readers who wish to expand their knowledge of this subject.



Proceed to the Hacienda Luisita series on GMANews.TV:

PART 1        PART 2        PART 3        PART 4        PART 5