Juico also welcomed the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court against the PARC on the cancellation of the stocks distribution agreement (SDOA) between Hacienda Luisita Inc. and the farmworker-beneficiaries.

"The problem at Hacienda Luisita is not ownership because that was already addressed by the SDOA. What appears to be the central issue is the yield of the farm and this question should be addressed by the co-owners, meaning the farmer beneficiaries and the management group," said Juico, who was at the helm of DAR when the SDOA was crafted.

The SDOA was subjected to a vote twice and unanimously passed garnering a total of more than 90 per cent of the votes from more than 5,000 farmer beneficiaries.

Prompted by a complaint from a group called AMBALA, however, the PARC attempted to step into the fore by ordering the cancellation of the SDOA and priming up for the distribution to the farmer beneficiaries of the roughly 6,000-hectare farm in Tarlac.

HLI, however, brought the issue to the attention of the courts and raised issues over the jurisdiction of the PARC apart from questioning the legitimacy of the complaint and the complainant.

HLI legal counsel Vigor Mendoza said he fully agrees with the observation of Juico and cited that the courts had already noted PARC’s lack of jurisdiction over the SDOA dilemma.

Mendoza also reiterated HLI’s call for sobriety while the case is under review saying that mass actions can only trigger unnecessary confrontations and may even result into violence.