SC orders oral arguments on Hacienda Luisita case
By Benjamin B. Pulta 07/21/2010 Oral arguments have been ordered by the Supreme Court (SC) on the land reform case of Hacienda Luisita, which is owned and managed by the Cojuangco-Aquino families, and where President Aquino is also a co-owner. Court Administrator and SC Spokesman Jose Midas Marquez informed newsmen yesterday that the Hacienda Luisita case has been transferred from the court’s First Division to the en banc and is scheduled for oral arguments on Aug. 3. “Considering the importance of the case and the parties involved, the justices thought it best that the entire court be involved to thresh out all the issues in that particular case,” Marquez told a press conference. Marquez added that the oral arguments will give the magistrates the chance to ask the parties “clarificatory questions which answers are not found in the pleadings.” He said the transfer of the case to the en banc as well as setting it for oral arguments was a “majority decision” among incumbent SC justices, based on an “informal survey” conducted by Chief Justice Renato Corona. Marquez said it was the Chief Justice who had scheduled the oral arguments for Aug. 3 “so that we can hear all the parties and all issues will be threshed out.” The court spokesman, however, clarified that this new development in the Hacienda Luisita case was not out of the ordinary. “This is not the first time it happens. We’ve had a few cases transferred to the en banc,” he pointed out. Marquez also denied pressure being applied from either of the parties in the case. “No pressure at all. It is one of those usual cases filed before the court.”.... MORESource: The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100721hed6.html |
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