Makaraan ang tatlong araw na paglalakbay, nakarating sa Maynila ang mga magsasaka ng Hacienda Luisita sa Tarlac. (Jovianne Figueroa)

Isang taon nang napagtagumpayan ng mga magsasaka ng Hacienda Luisita ang kanilang laban sa lupa sa Korte Suprema. Isang taon na, ngunit wala pa ring lupang naipapamahagi; wala pa ring pangako ng gobyernong Aquino ang natutupad.

Mula Abril 24 hanggang 27, naglakbay ang mga magsasaka mula sa Tarlac patungong Maynila upang muling igiit ang pamamahagi ng lupa, isang taon matapos magdesisyon dito ang korte pabor sa kanila. Pero hindi simpleng pamamahagi–kundi libreng pamamahagi ng lupa–ang kanilang panawagan.

Sa loob ng apat na araw, nagmartsa ang mahigit 250 na magsasaka, sa pangunguna ng Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA), Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala) at United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU).

Ayon kay Lito Bais, tagapangulo ng ULWU, “long overdue” na ang pamamahagi ng lupaing mahigit anim na dekada nang nasa kamay ng pamilya Cojaungco-Aquino. Iginigiit nilang hindi sila dapat magbayad ng “ni isang kusing” sa gobyerno bilang amortisasyon, na umano’y isang paraan lamang sa ilalim ng Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carper) para maibalik ang asyenda sa kontrol ng mga panginoong maylupa.

Mainit na suporta

Sa ikatlong araw ng Lakbayan, dumaan ang mga magsasaka sa Angeles City kung saan sinuportahan at pinaghanda sila ng tutuluyan ng obispo ng Pampanga.  Umani rin ng suporta ang mga magsasaka pagdating nila sa Bulacan, nang pinagalmusal at pinagmisa sila ng Diocese ng Malolos. Mula rito, nag-caravan na ang mga magsasaka patungong Monumento kung saan ipinagpatuloy nila ang martsa hanggang sa tanggapan ng Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) sa Quezon City.

Nagpapahinga sa bangketa ang mga magsasaka (Jovianne Figueroa)

Nang makarating ang grupo sa DAR bandang alas-siyete ng gabi noong Abril 26, makikita ang suporta ng iba’t ibang mga sektor ng lipunan na nakikiisa sa kanila. Mayroong mga nakihanay na maralitang lungsod galing pa  sa Pampanga at Bulacan. Mayroon ring mag-anak na nakitang nakimartsa mula sa San Roque, isa sa mga lugar na idinedemolis sa QC.

May mga kabataang nakianib rin sa martsa, at sa Solidarity Night noong kinagabihan. Nagsipagtanghal ang mga estudyante mula sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, at iba pang progresibong mga banda, sa inorganisang maliit na konsiyerto. Mayroong ilang propesyunal, gaya ng mga doktor at nars, na nakisali sa kilos-protesta para sa tunay na repormang agraryo.

Lupa ng magsasaka, babawasan?

Ibinalita ng UMA ang umano’y bagong utos ni Pangulong Aquino at tiyuhin nitong si Peping Cojuangco sa DAR na “bawasan” ang erya ng lupaing ipapamahagi sa mga dating manggagawang-bukid. Sa isang pahayag, sinabi nitong iginigiit ng DAR na tanging ang mga produktibong bahagi ng 4,335 na ektarya ng asyenda lamang ang sasaklawin ng mga Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA), batay sa kanilang inspeksiyon.

Ayon sa UMA, wala ito sa desisyon ng Korte Suprema noong nakaraang taon. Inireklamo rin ng Ambala at ULWU na hindi sila isinama ng DAR sa umano’y “ocular inspection” na isinagawa sa asyenda noong Marso 8 hanggang 14. Si Cojuangco rin umano ang namuno sa isang pulong sa Max’s Restaurant bago ang nasabing inspeksiyon.

Nakapanayam ng Pinoy Weekly si Francisco Dizon, isang opisyal ng ULWU. Ilang taon na raw siyang nakikibaka para sa dapat umano’y libreng pamamahagi ng lupa sa kanila. Mapait ang alala niya sa mga panahong sumusuweldo siya ng P194.50 kada araw sa pabrika ng asukal, na kinakaltasan pa ng manedsment para sa kung anu-anong mga “benepisyo.” Samantalang ang natitira na lamang sa mga manggagawang-bukid ay P9.50 kada araw.

Tiniis ng mga magsasaka ang matinding sikat ng araw para iparating ang kanilang panawagan na libreng pamamahagi ng lupa. (Jovianne Figueroa)

Sa kabila ng desisyon ng Korte Suprema, nakikita niyang matatagalan pa ang pamamahagi ng lupa, at na madali itong mapapasakamay muli sa mga Cojuangco-Aquino kung magbabayad sila ng amortisasyon sa ilalim ng Carper. “Kaya’t nagtataka rin kami, bakit ganon?”

Taong 1957 nang mangutang ang pamilya Cojuangco sa GSIS at Central Bank para makuha ang Hacienda Luisita, sa kasunduang ibabalik ang lupain sa mga magsasaka sa loob ng 10 taon. Dumating ang termino ni dating pangulong Corazon Aquino at ipinasa ang CARP, ngunit ipinagkakait pa rin sa mga magsasaka ang lupaing binungkal pa ng kanilang mga ninuno.

Pagkatapos ng 35 na taon ng CARP, isinilang naman ang Carper dahil sa kabiguan mismo ng programa na ipatupad ang tunay na reporma sa lupa. Nakasaad sa Carper na sa loob ng 5 taon, dapat maipamahagi ang mga lupain sa pamamagitan ng amortisasyon. Nangangahulugang dapat hulugan ng mga magsasaka ang lupa upang tuluyan itong mapasakanila.

Maraming tagasuporta ang sumalubong nang makarating sila sa tanggapan ng DAR. (Jovianne Figueroa)

Dito umano nagkakaproblema ang mga magsasaka. Dahil sa halip na libreng ipamahagi ang lupa, binibigyan pa ng kaukulang kompensasyon ang mga panginoong maylupa. Dahil dito, nakakasela rin ang CLOA ng mga magsasaka na walang kakayahang magbayad ng taunang mortgage fee. Nadadagdagan pa ng interes ang kanilang prinsipal na binabayaran, kaya’t nababaon pa sila lalo sa utang.

Sa kaso ng Hacienda Luisita, hindi pa rin resolbadong usapin ang halaga ng ibabayad na kompensasyon ng gobyerno sa pamilya Cojuangco-Aquino.

“Ang DAR ngayon ay nagiging instrumento na lamang ng gobyerno at ng mga landowner, [kung saan] ang kanyang isang kamay ay namamahagi kuno ng lupa, [habang] sa kabilang kamay ay binabawi at kinakansela ang mga CLOA,” paliwanag ni Joseph Canlas, tagapangulo ng Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon.

Kaya patuloy ang laban ng magsasaka, kasama ng kanilang mga tagasuporta, para sa libreng pamamahagi ng lupa sa Hacienda Luisita, ang nagpapatuloy na simbolo ng kabiguan ng gobyerno sa pagpapatupad ng reporma sa lupa.

Gayundin, ilalaban umano nila ang P1.33 Bilyon na inutos ng Korte Supremang ibigay sa mga magsasaka. Nagmula ang halagang ito sa pagbenta ng mga Cojuangco-Aquino sa mahigit 580 na ektarya ng asyenda. Ayon sa mga grupo, kapansin-pansin na nananatiling tahimik ang DAR at gobyernong Aquino hinggil sa usaping ito.

Farm workers in Hacienda Luisita who now till the land claimed by the Cojuangcos condemned the government for “sabotaging” the auditing process in favor of the President’s family. (KR Guda/PW File Photo)

Farm workers from Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac condemned the alleged sabotaging of the auditing process of Hacienda Luisita, Inc. by the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Led by Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA, Union of Agricultural Workers), the farm workers from the estate owned by the family of President Aquino charged that the DA insisted on including HLI in the auditing process–even as it is the very subject of the auditing.

On May 17, 2013, a meeting was held at La Majarica Hotel and Restaurant in Tarlac City where all parties present filed a motion to award the auditing process to Ocampo, Mendoza, Leung, Lim & Co. (OMLL) and to disqualify KPMG and Reyes Tacandong & Co.
KPMG and Reyes Tacandong & Co. are said to be ‘close’ to HLI and other Cojuangco firms.

UMA was joined by Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Ayenda Luisita (Ambala), the United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU), the Farmers of Agrarian Reform Movement, Inc. (FARM), the Supervisory Union of Hacienda Luisita, Inc., and Mr. Noel Mallari, head of the original 1989 farm workers, in filing the motion, while all excluding Mr. Mallari who was not present during the meeting voted to disqualify the two firms currently handling the auditing process.

According to UMA, they have been filing motions to consider certain independent accounting firms to examine where the HLI spent the share of farm worker beneficiaries in selling the 580-hectare land amounting to P1.33B, and to look into the company’s assets.
However, DAR denied all motions and cited the Supreme Court’s order that all parties must approve the selection of auditing firms.

“This would be impossible to achieve if DAR insists that HLI is a party to the selection process even if it is the entity that would be audited,” UMA stated in its recent press release.

HLI was not even present in the meeting, and so DAR became its spokesperson and defender, UMA added.

The DAR, meanwhile, said that it would raise the issue to the Supreme Court to further the discussion on the auditing process.

This raised greater concern to the farm workers as Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno “would most likely” rule in favor of the Cojuangcos and Aquinos again.

UNA pointed out that Sereno was appointed by the President and one of the minority justices who voted for a higher compensation package of the land to be distributed to beneficiaries–

The organizations, nevertheless, said they would be firm in their stand to award the auditing process of HLI and Centenary Holdings to OMLL, and to disqualify Reyes Tacandong & Co. and KPMG from the procedure.

Dr. Romeo Quijano: Bt talong poses serious risks to human health and environment (Pinoy Weekly)

Consumers, scientists, and farmers urged the Court of Appeals (CA) to uphold its landmark decision to stop the commercialization of Bt talong or genetically-modified (GM) eggplant due to concerns over its adverse effects on health and the environment.

Petitioners who filed a Writ of Kalikasan (Writ of Nature) against the Bt talong field trials raised alarm over renewed pressure from the biotechnology industry for the CA to reverse its decision. Last May 17, 2013, the CA ordered a permanent cease of Bt talong field trials and rehabilitation of the environment.

However, respondents of the case, led by the University of the Philippines (UP) Los Baños, have filed a motion for reconsideration, and even come up with full-page newspaper advertisements attesting to the safety of Bt talong.

In a media forum, multi-sectoral alliance Resist (Resist Agrochemical TNCs) reiterated that Bt talong is potentially dangerous and only strengthens the control over agriculture of agrochemical transnational corporations (TNCs) selling GM products.

“The Court of Appeals has based its decision on the fact that there was no full scientific certainty on the effects of Bt talong to human health and environment. This is enough reason for the court to prevent the field trials,” said Dr. Romeo Quijano, a medical doctor and toxicologist from UP Manila and co-petitioner against the Bt talong field trials.

“No independent tests were conducted to ascertain the safety of Bt talong to human health. The Bt talong field trials were conducted only to test the efficacy and agricultural performance of the product,” he added.

Atty. Zelda Soriano, counsel for the petitioners, said that the CA also based its decision on the lack of a governing law and safety regulations on GM products, and its relevance to public policy.

“The court acknowledges that is not a purely scientific activity. Those who are affected must be consulted and engaged in the process. The public needs to give its consent because they will be the one to assume the serious risks associated with Bt talong,” Soriano said.

Associated risks

Bt talong is an eggplant genetically modified to produce a toxin to combat the Fruit and Shoot Borer (FSB). Bt stands for Bacillus thuringiensis, a soil bacteria whose genes are inserted to the eggplant to produce toxins against FSB.

Proponents of Bt talong claim that this will reduce the use of pesticides. But Quijano, steering council member of Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific, said that this was untrue.

Quijano said that even its name indicates that every inch of the Bt plant has a harmful toxin, which is “a thousand times more concentrated than the (pesticide) spray.”

He cited scientific studies, including those submitted to the CA as evidence, which belie the biotechnology industry’s claim that the Bt toxin is only harmful to insects and that it disappears upon digestion by mammals and humans. “Numerous laboratory experiments show that mice react to the Bt toxin, several developed cancer and had their red blood cells and immune system damaged,” Quijano said.

Experiences of Filipino farmers planting Bt corn also show that people react to it, having allergic reactions during the flowering of the plant, or stomachaches upon eating the corn, he said.

Bt corn has been commercialized in the Philippines since 2002.

Quijano also added that insects eventually develop resistance to the Bt toxin, thus compelling farmers to use pesticides. Herbicide-tolerant genes are also eventually inserted into Bt crops, as in the case of Bt corn, thus increasing the use of herbicides.  “Worldwide, there is no Bt crop being planted today that do not still require massive amounts of pesticides and herbicides,” he said.

Dr. Chito Medina, environmental scientist and co-petitioner for farmer-scientist group Masipag (Magsasaka at Syentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura), meanwhile warned that even consumers who don’t want to eat GM products may have no choice, because of the high potential of contamination as well as the lack of a GM labelling law.

“The Bt talong field trials can contaminate non-GM crops, thus undermining not only the farmers’ freedom of choice in seeds and technology, but the consumers’ right to information and freedom of choice as well,” he said.

Medina pointed out that the eggplant is mostly insect-pollinated, so contamination is highly likely.

Laudable decision 

He lauded the CA decision, pointing out a similar decision by the Indian government to stop the commercialization of genetically-modified eggplant because of concerns over public safety and its effects on biodiversity.

Meanwhile, Rafael Mariano, national chairperson of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), said that only agrochemical TNCs such as Monsanto and Syngenta, which lead the  biotechnology industry, stand to gain from the commercialization of Bt talong.

He also cited the case of Bt corn, wherein “more and more farmers became indebted” due to the increase in the use and price of corn farming inputs.

“We urge the CA to stand by its decision to permanently desist the proponents from continuing Bt talong field trials. There are better alternatives and agricultural systems that will ensure better incomes for the farmers, safe food for the consumers and protection to the environment,” Mariano said.

Mapa ng Pilar, Bataan (Google Maps)

Dalawang magsasaka at isang tricycle driver ang dinukot ng pinaghihinalaang mga elemento ng 703rd Infantry Battalion ng Philippine Army noong Hulyo 11 sa Brgy. Liyang, Pilar, Bataan.

Ala-una hanggang alas-dos ng hapon nang dukutin sina Josue Ortiz, 23, at kapwa magsasakang si Manuel Pagkaera, humigit-kumulang 40-anyos, sa bayan ni Pagkaera, kasama ang di-napangalanang tricycle driver na kasama nila noon, ayon kay Rodolfo Sambajon, tagapag-ugnay ng Alyansa ng Mamamayan Laban sa Kahirapan at Pagpapalayas.

Sinabi ng mga kamag-anak ni Pagkaera na nakasaksi sa insidente na dinala ang tatlo sa isang kampo sa Bundok Arayat. Nalaman nila ang pinagdalhan ng tatlo matapos sundan ng mga magulang ni Ortiz ang mga sundalong nagdukot.

Nang tanungin hinggil sa tatlong dinukot, tumanggi ang mga sundalo na may dinala sa kanilang kampo sa Arayat.

Gayunman, hinarap umano sila ng isang Col. Henry Sabarre, diumano;y opisyal ng 703^rd IB.

Ayon kay Col. Sabarre, kaya raw nila pinapakat ang mga militar sa Liyang ay dahil mayroon silang impormasyon na may armas sa lugar nila Pagkaera kung kaya nila kinuha ang tatlo.

Kalaunan, sinabi ni Sambajon na nagbago ang kuwento ng mga militar. Sinabi ng mga ito na “sumuko” raw ang tatlo Arsenal na sa Lamao, Limay, Bataan.

Iginiit ng mga magulang ni Ortiz na makita ang anak, pero tumanggi ang mga sundalo.

Samantala, kinumpirma ng isang kapatid ni Pagkaera na nakapiit ang huli sa Camp Tolentino sa Balanga, Bataan. Pero di tiyak kung kasama niya ang dalawa pang nawawala

Sinabi ni Sambajon na ipagpapatuloy nila ang imbestigasyon para mahalap ang dinukot na mga magsasaka at tricycle driver. 

Hinala ng mga kaanak na pinagbibintangang mga miyembro ng rebeldeng New People’s Army (NPA) ang tatlo. Pero iginigiit nilang hindi miyembro ng NPA ang mga ito.

Hacienda Luisita farmers discussing the beneficiaries list released by DAR (Ilang-Ilang Quijano/ PW File Photo)

Farmers trooped to Hacienda Luisita on the 4th anniversary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (Carper) today to denounce the “sham” land reform program that has paid billions of pesos to big landlords while depriving farmers of land.

The Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) bared that in Hacienda Luisita, owned by the family of President Aquino, farmers are being coerced into signing a document called Application to Purchase and Farmers’ Understanding (APFU), which states that they are willing to buy the piece of land from the government at a still undetermined price.

“Why would you buy what you already own?” said Lito Bais, UMA chairperson.

The signing of the APFU comes with the drawing of lots conducted by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), which raffles off pieces of land to the farmers. UMA and other farmer groups inside the hacienda oppose this raffle draw, saying that it fails to recognize farmers who have already tilled a portion of the land since 2005.

The raffle draw and signing of the APFU is accompanied by the deployment of around 200 police and SWAT members, which is meant to “terrorize” the farmers, according to Bais.

UMA also revealed that only 117 out of 700 lots will be distributed to farmers in Brgy. Balete. The DAR claims that the 500 hectares of converted lands exempted from distribution are found in the said barangay.

“But these lands are located in four other barangays,” Bais disputed.

The Hacienda Luisita farmers are calling for the free distribution of land, saying that they have cheated out of their own lands by the Cojuangco-Aquinos long enough.

Source of corruption

Meanwhile, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) described the Carper as a “widely perceived as a source of corruption” and “cash cow of big landlords.”

When the CARP was extended in 2009, the government claimed that only 1.2 million hectares of private agricultural lands still remain to be distributed.

Four years later, however, 879,526 hectares still remain to be distributed, with the DAR only having finished the processing for acquisition and distribution of 113,866 hectares.

“These figures did not even reflect reversals and cancellations of so-called certificates of land ownership that escalated during the extension period,” said KMP secretary general Antonio Flores.

Citing the research think-tank Ibon Foundation, KMP further revealed that from 1972-2008, big landlords have already received P289 billion in payments for 1,619,513 hectares of land under CARP.

This excludes money that has been pocketed by corrupt bureaucrats and fake NGOs (non-government organizations), according to Flores. He was referring to Janet Lim-Napoles who reportedly controls seven NGOs who bagged P200 million in funds under the CARP in 2007 and 2008.

In time for the 2014 budget deliberations, the KMP is calling for the “zero budget” for Carper.

DAR has received a P21.3 billion budgetary allocation, under the Aquino administration’s P2.3 trillion proposed budget.

Instead, farmers are pushing for the enactment of the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill, which provides for free land distribution to farmers.

Protests versus Carper

According to KMP, farmers from Hacienda Luisita will be joined by farmers from Cagayan Calley and several provinces from Cordillera in a solidarity vigil tonight.

Meanwhile, in Iloilo City, more than 100 farmers led by Pamanggas (Panay and Guimaras-Wide Alliance of Farmers’ Organizations), an affiliate of KMP, will troop to the main streets of the city to denounce Carper, in a protest that will culminate at the provincial capitol grounds.

A similar protest action will be held in key cities in the Bicol region today, with more than 800 farmers led by the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bikol, according to the KMP.

Farmers uprooted Golden Riced being tested in Pili, Camarines Sur, to stop its commercialization. (Contributed Photo)

Farmers who led the uprooting of Golden Rice in a field trial in Pili, Camarines Sur last week stand by their militant action to stop the impending “feed trials” and commercialization of genetically-modified (GM) rice, despite threats of legal action by the Department of Agriculture (DA).

In an interview with Pinoy Weekly, Bert Autor, a farmer and spokesperson of SIKWAL-GMO, said that they are ready to face any charges that will come their way. “Nakahanda na kami para rito. Sinabi na namin noon sa DA na ito ang gagawin namin kapag ipinagpatuloy ang field trials. (We are ready. We already told the DA before that we will do this if they continue those field trials),” he said.

Feed trials?

Autor claimed that the DA Region 5 reneged on a promise made to them in a dialogue last February that there will be no field trials, after they raised concerns about Golden Rice’s impacts on their health, environment and livelihood.

“However, they still continued these clandestine field trials. We are very concerned as news about feed testing will start this year and that the harvest will be used in these feed experiments… We do not want our people, especially our children to be used in these experiments,” Autor said in an earlier statement.

He cited that in China, children have been secretly used in feed trials of Golden Rice.

SIKWAL-GMO is an alliance of farmers, church people, students, academicians and consumers based in Bicol who are against GMOs. Last August 8, SIKWAL-GMO and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bicol led around 400 farmers in uprooting Golden Rice to show their opposition to GM rice being developed by the Philippine government, together with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Swiss agrochemical giant Syngenta.

Below is a video clip of the uprooting of Golden Rice:

In response, Abelardo Bragas, DA Region 5 Executive Director, warned that farmer leaders responsible for the uprooting will be charged in court. “The action of the violent rallyists was a malicious mischief  that  resulted to the damage of properties, loss of valuable data, and loss of investment. Thus, we are taking legal action against the persons we have identified as directly involved in said mischief,” he said in a statement.

Bragas also said that farmers were merely used as “fronts” and “shields” by infiltrators. He did not elaborate who these alleged “infiltrators” were.

Autor said that the uprooting was a legitimate form of protest action by farmers themselves, who have been pressing the DA to stop the Golden Rice field trials.

Golden Rice is genetically-modified with genes coming from bacteria and corn to produce beta-carotene, the precursor to Vitamin A. Proponents say that Golden Rice will be used to address Vitamin A Deficiency or VAD.

But farmers’ groups insist that Golden Rice “is not an answer to the country’s problem on hunger and malnutrition,” and that it will create dependence on GM rice seeds and inputs.

Opponents of Golden Rice also say that it puts public health, the environment, and farmers‘ livelihood at risk. Scientific studies show that Golden Rice either does not produce sufficient Vitamin A or tends to lead to its overdose, while creating unpredictable health and environmental risks due to the tampering of genes and the presence of toxins in the inserted genes.

“Eh kung ang binhi pa nga lang, hindi na dinadapuan ng insekto dahil sa lason na taglay nito (Golden Rice), paano pa kaya ang epekto nito sa tao. (You can just imagine how it will poison people, if even insects do not come near its seeds because of its toxin),” Autor said.

He added that there are many native vegetables that are rich in Vitamin A, vegetables which will surely not survive if planted with Golden Rice.

The U.S.’ Rockefeller Foundation and Syngenta, which currently holds the patent to Golden Rice, has funded research on Golden Rice in partnership with the Laguna-based IRRI. The Golden Rice patent is currently owned by Syngenta.

Asian farmers laud action

Meanwhile, the Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) hailed the courageous action of Bicolano farmers.

“We condemn IRRI and Syngenta for raking in huge profits while destroying agriculture.  We don’t need GMOs . What we need is genuine agrarian reform to resolve hunger and malnutrition,” said APC deputy secretary general and Indonesian farmer leader Rahmat Ajiguna.

The APC also exposed the ties of Golden Rice developers to big agrochemical transnational corporations (TNCs).

Ajiguna said that the leader of IRRI’s Golden Rice project in the Philippines is Gerald Barry, former research director of Monsanto. Barry worked in Monsanto for 20 years before moving to IRRI in 2003.

The U.S.-based TNC created genetically-modified Bt corn, which is now being commercialized in the country.

In 2001, militant farmers in South Cotabato also uprooted Bt corn planted in a field trial as protest.

The APC called on all farmers across Asia to uproot all GM crops in their country and oppose its commercialization.

Farmworker beneficiaries of Hacienda Luisita in Brgy. Balete may be alloted land 10 kms away from their place, as Cojuangcos fight for retention of prime lands. (Ilang-Ilang Quijano/ PW File Photo)

The Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) slammed the Department of Agrarian Reform’s pronouncements that the Cojuangco-Aquino family will be paid P1.2 billion as compensation for the distribution of land to farmers in Hacienda Luisita.

In a budget hearing at the House of Representatives last August 8, de los Reyes revealed that the Cojuangcos would be paid P304 million as compensation for the 4,335 hectares of land, according to UMA.

Including 12% interest since 1989, this amounts to P1.2 billion, or 28% of DAR’s budget allotted for landowners compensation for 2014.

According to Florida Sibayan, acting chairperson of Ambala (Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita), the hefty compensation for President Aquino’s landlord clan is equivalent to a scam. “ If this is not a scam then what is?” she said.

The farmers fear that the Cojuangcos would appeal an even higher compensation of P1.2 million per hectare to the DAR Adjudication Board and the Supreme Court. If the Cojuangcos’ appeal would be granted, they would be paid a total of P5.2 billion, excluding interest.

With the current compensation scheme of the DAR, the amortization to be paid by farm worker beneficiaries (FWBs) would increase from P48,938 to P837,411 each, excluding interest and payment of land taxes.

“We would already be hard pressed to pay the smaller sum, what more the almost P1 million,” Sibayan said.

Meanwhile, almost 200 farmers also staged a protest today against the Lot Allocation Certificate (LAC) or land lots raffle to be held by DAR.

According to Ambala, the DAR wants to give farmers in Brgy. Balete LACs in barangays Pando and Mabilog, which is 10 kilometers away from their place.

The DAR reasoned that 500 hectares of the converted lands sold by Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) to Centenary Holdings and Rizal Commercial Bank Corp. are located in Brgy. Balete.

This is contested by the farmers, who say that the disputed land is actually located in Brgy. Ungot.

“The Cojuangco-Aquinos only want to keep [land in Brgy. Balete], because they are prime lands nearest to the main entrance of the Hacienda in Brgy. San Miguel, where many lands have been transformed into other uses,” Sibayan revealed.

Ambala also denounced the militarization of their communities, saying that huge numbers of military and police are deployed before and during the LAC distribution.

“The military conducted last Friday and Saturday night film showings on who their ‘enemies’ are, at the covered court of barangays. Three SWAT vehicles were also seen patrolling the area last Monday morning,” she added.

A barricade put up by the residents in Binuangan, Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya. (Photo Contibution/Lakbay-Cagayan Valley)

A mining company in Nueva Vizcaya withdrew cases they filed against indigenous people and is set to cease operations in Nueva Vizcaya.

In a motion to withdraw complaint filed in Regional Trial Court Branch 37, in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, the Royalco Philippines Inc. manifested that they are withdrawing their complaints against 10 anti-mining leaders, including a parish priest.

The company will also stop their mining exploration in barangays Pao and Kakiduguen in Kasibu.

The mining company last June filed a temporary restraining order against the 10 indigenous leaders for refusing to lift people’s barricades and subsequently filed damages and indirect contempt against them.

In a message to Pinoy Weekly, lawyer Fidel Santos, counsel of the defendants, confirmed the withdrawal of the cases filed against leaders of the protesting indigenous people.

Santos said that the company, in their motion to withdraw, cited “concern over peace in the communities” and “brewing conflicts” among the Bugkalot tribes as their reasons for withdrawing both the case and its operations.

But Santos said that it was the people’s assertion and vigilance that made the mining company back out.

“Apparently, they refused to see the obvious. The barricades put up by the people especially the IPs (indigenous peoples), the TRO issued by the court notwithstanding, had prevented them their ingress and egress to the exploration site, until they became ‘sick and tired’ of the people’s resistance to mining and finally withdrawn from their operation,” he said.

Santos said he hoped that Royalco is sincere in withdrawing its operations in the province. Nevertheless, he called on the people to continue their vigilance.

“The people had undoubtedly won the battle but not the war. Thus they must be complacent because foreign mining companies are by nature, treacherous,” he said.

Peoples organizations are set to hold a fact-finding mission on September 17 to 21 in three mining areas: Didipio and Runruno, where another mining company operates (Oceana Gold) and Royalco’s the drilling operations in Belance, Nueva Vizcaya.

Members of FEAC with Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate call for a halt to magnetite mining in Cagayan. (Macky Macaspac)

Residents of  coastal towns in Cagayan province trooped to Malacanang and the House of Representative to call for the immediate halt to magnetite mining (also known as black sand) operations there.

The Federation of Environmental Advocates of Cagayan (FEAC) and Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE), among others, demanded Pres. Benigno Aquino III to cancel all mining permits issued by the local Mines and Geosciences Bureau and for the Congress to conduct onsite investigation on the impact in ecosystem and the livelihood of the residents.

According to Kalikasan-PNE, about 53,684 hectares of coastal land and foreshore are covered by magnetite mining, from the north-eastern coastal town of Gonzaga to the northwest town of Pamplona.

The group said mining caused erosion of their coastline and the riverbanks of the Cagayan River.

“Studies and scientific investigations of magnetite mining areas in the province have concluded that black sand mining operations, regardless of legality, contributed to the depletion of fisheries, salt water and chemical intrusion into the freshwater table, and worsened flooding in coastal and riverside communities,” said Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of Kalikasan-PNE.

Recently, at least 10 mining firms were given permits by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), granting them permission to extract gravel and sand until 2015 and black sand until 2017.

Aside from the ten mining firms, around 19 mining firms still operate in the province, according to FEAC. This despite the raids conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation under the operations of MGB office in Cagayan to rid illegal mining and prohibit mining operation within 200 meter from the shoreline.

Residents stressed that legal mines had greater impact on their livelihood.

“Those that have been impacting on our livelihood and safety are actually legal mines given permission by MGB and local governments, such as the Lutra Inc., Lian Xing Philippines Stone Carving Co. and San You Philippines Mining Ltd. Inc. Some of these were just recently given renewed permits to operate, and we find it incredible how these operations pass the requirements of MGB and LGUs,” said Isabelo Adviento, spokesperson of Kagimungan, a local peasant organization in Cagayan.

A resident from Brgy. Dodan, Aparri said that since magnetite mining operation started in 2007, their farmlands had been destroyed due to salt water intrusion.

“Our sand dunes had been destroyed and salt water is entering our farms, destroying our crops,” said Cleng Siriban.

She said that their income had dwindled since then. Even fisherfolks are complaining that fishes are becoming rare. “Before, in one daklis (ilocano term that refers to a process of catching fish involving the entire community), we get five truckloads of fish. Now, we only get one truckload,” Siriban said.

In 2010, an Environmental Investigation Mission (EIM) conducted by the Center for Environmental Concerns (CEC), concluded that magnetite mining operations along the Cagayan River in the municipalities of Camalaniugan, Lal-lo and Aparri worsened flooding due to bank erosion.

The same was observed in the magnetite mining-affected coastal communities in the municipalities of Gonzaga and Aparri because of the destruction of sand dunes and the disruption of the coastal sediment budget.

The EIM also concluded that magnetite mining contributed to the depletion of fisheries supply, noting observation of locals that fresh water mollusk known locally as Unnok and fish locally known asLudung were reported to have drastically decreased in supply post-mining.

The findings of CEC were again confirmed in a separate Environmental and Social Risk Appraisal by Kalikasan last 2012.

In their report, fish kills were observed by the fisherfolk in Buguey Lagoon where 50 percent of their local Malaga cultures perished between January and February of 2012.

The report also noted that seven out of the nine barangays surveyed had varying reports of salt water intrusion, foul odor and discoloration and chemical contamination of deep wells and other fresh water supplies, affecting the potable water supply and the agricultural land and crop quality in the affected areas.

Aside from the impact on their livelihood and the ecosystem, some residents who are vocal against the mining operations complained of harassment from the local government units who allegedly connived with the mining firms.

“They sued me for being vocal against the mining. I got three cases, last August they issued a warrant of arrest for oral defamatory against me,” said Susana Balao.

She said that Dadon barangay officials are threatening her of filing another case this time for attempted murder. But the 61 years old Balao is unfazed with the harassment and vowed to continue their fight against magnetite mining.

“Thousands of our fellow Cagayanons and no less than Tuguegarao Archbishop Sergio Utleg have joined our long-standing calls for the revocation of all black sand mining permits in Cagayan. We brought our demands before the Malacanang’s Cagayan Black Sand Mining Task Force, to which they promised an immediate investigation and stoppage of magnetite mining operations in the area. The people of Cagayan will remain vigilant and will hold Pres. Benigno Aquino III accountable for his office’s promises,” added Adviento.

In a statement, the multi-sectoral organization, Defend Patrimony, said that the impacts of magnetite mining operations in Cagayan are an indictment to the flawed mining policies of the government.

“Despite the passage of Aquino’s Executive Order 79, the scourge of magnetite mining remain unaddressed – some hide behind small-scale mining permits despite using large-scale machinery and equipment, while others are actual Mineral Production Sharing Agreements legitimized by the Mining Act of 1995. Let us not forget how the Nicua Magnetite MPSA in Leyte caused massive fish kills last year, a disaster waiting to happen in Cagayan unless we put a stop to it,” the group said.

Dahil gustong magkaroon ng karapatan sa lupa si Mercy Fernandez, 74 anyos, nilagdaan niya ang papeles na pinapipirmahan ng Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) para “maipamahagi” ang lupa sa Hacienda Luisita.

Isa si Nanay Mercy sa mahigit 6,000 benepisyaryo ng lupa sa Hacienda Luisita. Pero naiyak siya nang malaman mula sa kanyang mga kasamahan na may kailangan pa silang bayaran bago mapasakanila ang lupa.

Dahil dito, hindi na kinuha ni Nanay Mercy ang Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOA) na para sa kanya sa araw ng pamimigay ng DAR kanilang barangay sa Balete.

“Hindi ko alam magbasa at sumulat. Kung alam ko lang na babayaran ko ’yan sa loob ng 30 taon, hindi ko na sana pinirmahan noon yung ATFU (Application to Purchase and Farmers Undertaking). Hindi nila pinaliwanag sa akin,” ayon kay Nanay Mercy, sa panayam ng Pinoy Weekly.

Tuloy ang paglaban para sa karapatan sa lupa sa Hacienda Luisita sa Tarlac. (Pher Pasion)

Pinaikot na panlilinlang

Tambiolo land reform kung tawagin ito ng mga magsasaka ng asyenda ang nagaganap ngayon sa Lusiita. Idinaan kasi sa pagbunot sa tambiyolo ang lupang kanilang umanong maaangkin.

Para sa kanila, huwad at mapanlinlang ang ganitong sistema ng pamamahagi ng lupa.

“Hindi naman nila pinaliwanag sa akin ’yung pinapirmahan nila. Tinatakpan pa nga nila. Tapos nakita ko, bakit ganito lang ito: certified true copy lang?” sabi ni Joselito Fiesta, 50, taga-Brgy. Balete at isa sa mga benepisyaryo nang araw na makuha ang CLOA na ipinamigay ng DAR.

Nalaman na lamang niya na may kailangan muna silang bayaran sa Land Bank na bahagi ng kanilang pinirmahan noon bago mapunta sa kanila ang orihinal na kopya ng titulo ng lupa. Hindi nila alam kung magkano. Hindi naman umano nakasaad sa kanilang pinirmahan.

Pero kung hindi nila mabayaran, hindi mapupunta sa kanila ang orihinal na kopya ng lupa. Mananatili ito sa pamilyang Cojuangco-Aquino.

Bukod pa rito, nasa Brgy. Mabilog ang lupang dapat para sa kanya. Napakalayo nito sa Brgy. Balete kung saan siya nakatira. Halos sampung kilometro ang layo nito.

Hindi rin nakalagay sa CLOA kung anong lot number ng lupa ang para sa kanya. Nakalagay lamang dito ang 0.66 hektarya na kanya umanong aariin pero hindi nya alam kung saan sa nasabing barangay nya ito hahanapin.

Si Orlando Simon naman, 60, mula sa Brgy. Mapalacsio, iba ang bumunot para sa kanya at malayo rin ang lupang nabunot para sa kanya na nasa Brgy. Mutrico.

“Ang ipinamimigay lamang ay certified ‘xerox’copy. Nagpapatunay na huwad ang pamamahagi ng lupa dahil dapat may babayaran ang mga magsasaka,” ayon kay Joseph Canlas, tagapangulo ng Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon o AMGL.

Ayon kay Renato Mendoza, opisyal ng Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala), sinadya ng manedsment at gobyerno ang mabagal na proseso ng pagbabayad para gipiitin ang mga benepisaryo na hindi makabayad sa lupa at muling maagaw ng mga Cojuangco.

Patuloy na pangangamkam 

Ayon kay Anakpawis Rep. Fernando Hicap, malawak ang lupang hindi sinaklaw ng pamamahagi sa asyenda gaya ng mga lupang inaangkin ng Tarlac Development Corporation na pagmamay-ari din ng mga Cojuangco at ang lupang binakuran ng banking RCBC na nasa 500 ektarya.

Bukod pa rito, isang sports complex ang nais ipatayo ng mga Cojuangco kung kaya kanilang inaangkin ang may 100 ektarya sa Brgy. Mapalacsio, ayon kay Simon.

Sinabi naman ni Canlas na mga Cojuangco-Aquino pa dapat ang siyang magbayad sa mga mamamayan ng asyenda ng P1.33-Bilyon para sa pagkakabili sa lupa ng Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (80.51 ektarya) at RCBC (500 ektarya).

Duda naman ang mga residente na nasa 500 hektarya lamang ang binakuran ng RCBC dahil higit doon ang tantsa nilang nilagyan ng bakod.

Nagpapatuloy na panunupil

Ayon kay Mendoza, bumbero at sangkatutak na pulis ang ikinakalat sa bawat barangay sa panahon ng bunutan sa tambiyolo hanggang pamimigay ng kopya ng CLOA. Maliban pa ito sa mga detachment ng mga militar na nasa may sampung barangay sa loob ng asyenda.

“Kung tunay talaga ang pamamahagi ng lupa, bakit puro pulis at bumbero ang nandito? Alam nilang magpoprotesta ang mga mamamayan dito dahil alam nilang peke ang pamamahaging ito na ginagawa ng DAR,” ayon kay Mendoza.

Ayon naman kay Simon, alam nila kung bakit may mga militar sa mga barangay at dahil iyon sa laban sa lupa. May mga ulat umano sila ng paniniktik ng mga ahente sa kanilang mga lumalaban.

Nagbabahay-bahay din umano ang mga militar sa mga barangay para takutin ang mga residente na lumahok sila sa tambiyolo. Kung hindi raw sila lalahok, mawawalan sila ng lupa bilang benepisaryo, sabi ng mga nananakot.

Gayunpaman, determinado pa rin ang mga mamamayan dito na patuloy na ilantad ang iskema ng ipinapatupad na mga “repormang sa lupa” kuno ng DAR sa loob ng Hacienda Luisita na hawak ng pamilya ng mismong presidente ng republika.

Protesta ng mga kababaihan sa NFA. (Kontribusyon)

Pinabibitiw sa puwesto ng Anakpawis Party-list si Orlan Calayag, administrador ng National Food Authority (NFA), dahil sa diumano’y pagiging US citizen niya at nanawagan sa Bureau of Immigration na pabilisin ang proseso ng deportasyon nito sa Estados Unidos.

Kinondena rin ng grupo si Sec. Prospero Alcala ng Department of Agriculture (DA) sa paglalagay niya kay Calayag sa NFA, batayan daw ito para patalsikin si Alcala sa DA.

Sinabi ng Anakpawis na hindi nakapagtatakang pumalpak ang performance ng NFA dahil sa kawalang karanasan ni Calayag para mamuno sa ahensiya.

Sinabi pa ng grupo na hindi makontrol o mairolbak ng NFA ang mataas na presyo ng bigas, gayundin ang kabiguan ng ahensiya na pigilan ang ismagling at wala din suporta sa mga magsasaka para paunlarin ang kanilang produksiyon.

“Tumatanggap siya ng mataas na sahod mula sa pondo ng mga mamamayan, US citizen pala siya. Dapat tanggalin na siya sa puwesto at paalisin na sa bansa,” sabi ni Rafael Mariano, pambansang pangulo ng Anakpawis.

Dinepensahan naman ng administrasyong Aquino si Calayag at sinabing kuwalipikado ito para sa nasabing puwesto. “Based on an assessment of the documents provided by Mr. Orlan Calayag, he has met all the qualifications necessary to hold his current position,” sabi ni Executive Sec. Paquito Ochoa Jr. sa midya.

Pero iginiit ng Anakpawis na dapat masibak si Calayag kung hindi siya magbibitiw. Sa ilalim daw kasi ng pamumuno niya, tumaas ng halos PhP 40.00 hanggang PhP 45.00 ang presyo ng bigas na hindi na kaya ng ordinaryong mga mamimili.

Inakusahan din grupo na bahagi ng “Quezon Mafia” si Calayag at kasama daw ito sa mga malalapit na alyado ni Alcala na kumokontrol sa DA at iba pang ahensiya nito.

Itinalaga si Calayag noong Enero 2013 para tapusin ang termino ng dating administrador na si Angelito Banayo at muling itinalaga nito lamang Hulyo 2013.

Samantala, muling nagprotesta ang grupo ng kababaihan na Gabriela sa harapan ng NFA. Nanawagan nila sa ahensiya na lakihan ang alokasyon ng bigas na binibili mula sa lokal na mga magsasaka at hindi na taasan ang importasyon.

Dapat daw na itaas ang binibili sa mga magssaka ng kahit 30 porsiyento, mula sa 10 porsiyento.

Ayon pa sa grupo, kailangan din daw na itaas ang buffer stock mula 15-30 araw patungo sa 45-60 araw, laluna’t palagian ang kalamidad na nararanasan ng bansa.

“Labis kaming nadidismaya na sa kabila ng matinding gutom at hirap ng mga mamamayan dahil sa mataas na presyo ng bigas. Bilyun-bilyong piso naman pala ang inaaksaya ng gobyerno sa labis na importasyon ng bigas na hindi naman pinapakinabangan ng mga mamamayan at hinahayaan lang mabulok sa mga warehouse ng NFA,” sabi ni Joms Salvador, pangkalahatang kalihim ng Gabriela.

Kasalukuyang iniimbesigahan sa Senado at Kamara ang mga opisyal ng NFA at DA dahil umano sa overpricing ng bigas na imported noong Abril.

Pinasaringan pa ni Salvador si Calayag na, “Pilipino, Amerikano, o kung anong citizenship pa man, basic evil ang maging manhid sa inhustisya sa kalagayan ng mga mamamayang nagugutom at ninanakawan ng pondong bayan,” ani Slavador sa isyu ng citizenship ni Calayag.

Armed security personnel guards the entrance of Hacienda Dolores (Pokus-GL/Contributed Photo)

Groups under the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson (AMGL) demanded justice for three farmers who were “attacked” by security guards in Hacienda Dolores in Porac, Pampanga, resulting to the death of one farmer.

According to AMGL, Arman Padino, together with father-and-son, Noel and Reynold Tumali were fired upon by alleged security guards and armed goons deployed at the said hacienda on the early morning of January 12, while the farmers were on their way to work on their farms.

The victims were brought brought to Jose B. Lingad Memorial Hospital in San Fernando, Pampanga, but Padino succumbed to death due to a gunshot wound in the head last Monday, while the elder Tumali was critically wounded.

The group said that the perpetrators were deployed by Leonardo-Lachenal Holdings, Inc. (LHI), FL Property Management Corp. (FL PMC) and Ayala Land.

“This is an outright barbarism of LHI, FLPMC and Ayala against the vulnerable farmers of Hacienda Dolores. This has no place in a supposedly civilized and democratic society such as ours. Join us in our condemnation and demand for justice for Padino and the Tumalis,” said Joseph Canlas, chairperson of AMGL and Anakpawis Party-list regional coordinator.

AMGL also said that when barangay officials led by Antonio Tolentino, also chairman of Association of United People of Hacienda Dolores (ANMHD), an affiliate organization of AMGL, responded to the attack, they were also fired upon by the perpetrators.

But when Tolentino led the filing of charges against the suspect, they have learned that they were being charged with malicious mischief and carnapping by LHI and FL PMC.

Canlas addded that Hacienda Dolores farmers are usual victims of abuses perpetrated by LHI, FLPMC and Ayala Land.

The group found in a fact-finding mission held October 30 to 31 of last year that the private firms fenced more than 758-hectare of lands cultivated by the farmers depriving farmers of their livelihood, forcing them into odd jobs and their children going out of school.

“Since 2011, farmers are subjected to continuing harassment by security guards and armed goons, mass arrests have been a common practice, instigated by LHI and FL PMC in collusion with the local police,” added Canlas.

Last December, Jessel Orgas survived a grenade throwing and Modesto Posadas from gunshot wounds from motorcycle-riding men. Subsequently last January 8, Ener Angeles Tolentino was arrested by two police officers while on way to work on his farm.

“These offensives of LHI, FL PMC and Ayala are comprehensive and well-coordinated. While their victims are yet to be cared for at the hospital, they had the time and resources to file charges against the real victims, and even release a biased report to the media,” Canlas said.

Meanwhile, Karapatan-Southern Tagalog demanded the immediate release of husband and wife Joel and Pritargue Almonte, who were both arrested in their house in Valenzuela City last January 9.

According to Glendhyl Malabanan, secretary general of Karapatan-ST, Joel Almonte who is a diabetic, is a known leader and organizer of fisherfolks in Laguna. Almonte and his family is renting a house in Valenzuela while having his medical treatment when arrested.

The two arre currently detained in Camp Vicente Lim in Laguna.

A farmers’ group files a plunder case against President Aquino for alleged misuse of P125-M Malampaya funds through NGOs linked to Janet Lim-Napoles. (Contributed Photo)

Farmers from the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) today filed a plunder case before the Office of the Ombudsman against Pres. Benigno Aquino III, Budget Sec. Florencio Abad, Agrarian Sec. Virgilio Delos Reyes, Janet Lim-Napoles, and nine others over the misuse of P125 Million of the Malampaya Fund.

In a 16-page complaint with 70 documentary evidences, the KMP accused Aquino of releasing hundreds of millions of pesos to ‘bogus’ non-government organizations (NGOs) through the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

“The projects that the DAR entered into with the NGOs … are not in any way related to energy-development. Worst, those projects were never implemented. Not a single centavo was spent for the said projects and not a single farmer received any benefit therefrom,” the complaint said.

The projects include the purchase of millions of pesos worth of worms, allegedly to be used in vermi-composting.

Rafael Mariano, KMP chairperson, said that Aquino was the primary accused in the case because he approved the unlawful release of the funds.

The complaint said that in 2011, the Office of the President and the Department of Budget and Management approved the release of billions of pesos of Malampaya funds for projects or purposes “not related to energy exploration, development or exploitation.”

The DAR, one of the departments who were allocated the funds, entered into Memoranda of Agreement (MOA) for organic farming with several NGOs that are linked to Napoles, according to the complaint.

“Allocating millions for red wigglers, white worms, and other earthworms is not only preposterous but revolting. Obviously, Aquino and his political lieutenants colluded with fake NGOs to deliberately plunder the Malampaya funds,” Mariano said.

These NGOs include WorkPhil Foundation, Samahan Magsasaka sa Kapatagan, Karangyaan Para sa Magbubukid Foundation, Kaupadanan para sa Mangunguma Foundation, and Social Development Program Farmers Foundation.

The plunder case cited a report by the Commission and Audit Report (COA) that the funds released to these NGOS were not liquidated, that some of the NGOs were not even registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and that some were engaged in projects “totally unrelated to the purpose or purposes for which they were incorporated.”

The COA recommended the filing of cases against the NGOs as well as the DAR officials accountable for the transactions.

“This plunder complaint (shows) that under the Aquino regime, the DAR is not only a conduit of big landlords, like the Cojuangcos, in strengthening their control over vast haciendas but (also) a conduit in plundering the nation’s coffers,” Mariano added.

Meanwhile, Malacañang has withheld comment on the farmers’ plunder charge, saying that it has yet to read a copy of the complaint.

Farmers reenact the Mendiola Massacre amid a backdrop calling for President Aquino’s ouster. (Ilang-Ilang Quijano)

Farmers bearing the brunt of landlessness and “fascist attacks” of state forces today marched to the gates of Malacañang to press for the ouster of President Aquino, saying that injustice has heightened 27 years after the Mendiola Massacre.

Hundreds of farmers from Hacienda Luisita, Hacienda Dolores, and other areas of unresolved land disputes in Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog commemorated the infamous massacre in a protest, which highlighted the need to change a system controlled by “corrupt bureaucrats serving the interests of (big landlords and businesses).”

On January 22, 1987, tens of thousands of farmers marched to Malacañang to demand genuine land reform under the newly installed administration of the late President Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino, mother of BS Aquino. Thirteen farmers were killed when state forces opened fire on the peasants.

Almost three decades later, farmers testify that nothing has changed.

Sally Padino, sister of slain farmer Arman Padino, said that President Aquino’s “tuwid na daan” meant death for farmers, who were being killed by either bullets or hunger.

Arman was killed when security guards in Hacienda Dolores opened fire on farmers on their way to their fields last January 12. “Kumukuha lang siya ng mga bungang-halaman para may pambaon ang mga anak niya,” (He was just foraging for root crops so that his children will have something to eat) Sally told Pinoy Weekly.

Sally Padino (extreme left), sister of slain farmer Arman Padino speaks in behalf of farmers in Hacienda Dolores. (Ilang-Ilang Quijano)

Another farmer, Noel Tumali, remains in critical condition, said Sally.

Hacienda Dolores, a 2,000-hectare land in Porac, Pampanga, is being claimed by Leonardo-Lachenal Holdings, Inc., FL Property Management Corp., and Ayala Land. Guards have fenced in lands that farmers have been tilling for decades, leaving many without livelihood.

Meanwhile, in Hacienda Luisita, farmer Rudy Corpuz said that just this morning, they received a distressed call from their fellow farmers in Brgy. Cutcut, where a scuffle with suspected Cojuangco goons just ensued.

Based on preliminary information they recieved, a military asset hit farmer Maning Gomez, a senior citizen, several times with a metal digger. The perpetrator was with several other men claiming to be engineers conducting a land survey for the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

The Cojuangco-owned Tarlac Development Corporation has been pushing to exempt hundreds of hectares of lands in Hacienda Luisita from distribution. Tadeco’s moves have resulted in the arrest of farmers, and even the killing of one farmer since last year.

Farmers allege that the Cojuangco-Aquino family remains in control of Hacienda Luisita because of the DAR’s “sham” distribution under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

“The President’s family’s lead is now being followed by their closest ally and real estate giants,” said Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas chairperson Rafael Mariano.

He cited the Ayala’s involvement in land grabbing in Hacienda Dolores; the Araneta’s  land grabbing of 300 hectares in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan; and the refusal of the Zobel’s to distribute 11,000 hectares in Calatagan, Batangas.

“The Filipino peasantry has had enough of Aquino’s blatant disregard of the people’s demand for justice and genuine land reform. We will work hard and link arms with the people for the realization of our call to oust Aquino and for system change,” Mariano said.

Only low-level officials of Department of Agrarian Reform faced angry Luisita farmers in a dialogue last Jan 21. (Ilang-Ilang Quijano)

The land had just yielded a bountiful rice harvest and farmers in Brgy. Cutcut were just about ready to sow mongo seeds to rejuvenate the land and prepare it for the next planting season. But on the morning of January 16, farmers woke up to find that a hut, a security outpost of the Cojuangco-owned Tarlac Development Corporation (Tadeco), has been erected right smack in the middle of their fields.

In minutes, the farmers mobilized themselves. Despite threats by the armed guards manning it, they were able to dismantle the outpost.

The next day, the farmers saw that the hut they dismantled was standing once more. This time, there were more Tadeco guards around, who threatened to call for military and police back up. But before the state’s security forces came, some members of the media came. This paved the way for negotiations, ending with both parties finally agreeing to  a status quo or to leave things as they are (“walang galawan”).

The next day, the hut was gone. “I don’t know what happened to it,” 59-year old farmer Rudy Corpuz said, chuckling.

But the tension in Hacienda Luisita is just beginning to escalate, the farmers believe, as the family of President Aquino step up efforts to maintain control over the vast estate.

Confrontations between farmers and armed guards and goons of Tadeco since last year has resulted in the bulldozing of lands, filing of trumped-up charges and arrest of farmers and their supporters, and the killing of one farmer.

Meanwhile, Department of Agrarian Reform’s (DAR) land distribution process–marked by the controversial “tambiolo” or raffling of lots–has been accompanied by the heavy deployment of police ang military forces.

Pong Sibayan, acting chairperson of Ambala (Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita), fears that the tension may escalate into an incident similar to the 2004 massacre of striking hacienda workers. “The people are terrified,” she said.

Still, more than 400 farmers have refused to give their lands back to their landlords under what they claim as the “sham” land distribution under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Under the watchful eyes and guns of private guards and state forces controlled by the most powerful man in the country, they continue tilling their lands collectively and demand for free land distribution.

‘Reconcentration’ of lands to Cojuangcos

In a letter given recently to farmworker beneficiaries, the DAR threatened to disqualify by February 15 those who still refuse to sign an Application to Purchase and Farmer’s Undertaking (APFU). “The failure to abide by this deadline means giving up your right as a beneficiary of CARP in Hacienda Luisita,” the letter said.

Farmers find this ‘deadline’ unconscionable.

Florida Sibayan, acting chairperson of Ambala, shows a picture of her father who died of sickness shortly teargas inhaled during the 2004 massacre worsened his asthma. (Ilang-Ilang Quijano0

In a dialogue with low-ranking DAR officials last January 17 (farmers complain that not even a department undersecretary faced them), the farmers said that they refused to sign the APFU because the document refused to recognize collective land ownership–even if such is an option under the law–and tied them to the payment of monthly amortization, which if unpaid for three years would mean land forfeiture.

“In truth, we have paid for this land many times over with our sweat and blood. It is already ours. Also, we are still waiting for the P1.33 Billion that the management of Hacienda Luisita still owes us–that amount alone should be enough to pay the government,” said Sibayan.

The P1.33-B owed to farmers from the sale of land for the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway is just one of the many other contentious issues of the Supreme Court decision on Hacienda Luisita that remains unresolved because of what the farmers alleged is a “collusion” between the Cojuangcos and the executive department.

Meanwhile, even as the DAR has claimed successful distribution of Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOA), farmers say that only xerox copies of CLOAs were given out. These also had little bearing, since the farm lots awarded to them by the DAR through the raffle were far from their homes or fields they were currently tilling.

“Many farmers in our barangay were given lots in far-away barangays Pando and Mabilog. A one-way tricyle ride would cost them P100. Also, most cannot afford to re-invest in irrigation, as the government has given us no support. So what happens is that many have no choice but to rent out their lands instead,” said Raymundo Alcaide, a farmer from Brgy. Balete who were among those who refused to participate in the raffling of lots.

Lands in the hacienda are rented out for as low as P7,000 per year. Meanwhile, other farmers have given up their lands as collateral, for “loans” that reach up to P100,000.

Ambala says that sugarcane growers who are “dummies” of the Cojuangcos now control many of these lands rented out or given up as collateral by farmworker beneficiaries, paving the way for the re-concentration of land to their old landlords. This is exactly what the DAR and President Aquino has set out to achieve, the group says.

Alcaide is one of many Ambala members who instead participate in the “bungkalan” or collective tilling that farmers have set up since 2005, a year after the infamous massacre. A few days before Christmas last year, he once again got a taste of the kind of violence that the Cojuangcos were capable of, when his hut and fields were bulldozed by Tadeco guards.

Farmers tried to stop the bulldozing of their fields last December. (Contributed Photo/Ambala)

“They flattened everything to the ground, my rice plants and root crops. They didn’t leave anything. Even my animals were gone,” he said.

Of the farmers who immediately rushed to defend their fields, eight were arrested.

Price of resistance

The farmers believe that the almost 400 hectares now being claimed by Tadeco in the villages of Balete, Cutcut, and Mapalacsiao is of special interest to the Cojuangcos. These lands nearest Tarlac City proper is part of what is believed to be a land use plan to turn Hacienda Luisita into an industrial, residential, and commercial zone.

These are 268 hectares in Brgy. Balete, 104 hectares in Brgy. Cutcut, and several more hectares in Brgy. Mapalacsiao. Tadeco claims that these lands have been reclassified for non-agricultural uses, and are not covered by the SC decision.

Farmers who have tilled the lands say otherwise. “I have been been a farm worker here since I was 17 years old. My parents have been working the land even before that,” the 60-year old Alcaide said.

According to Ambala, Tadeco is exploiting a loophole in the SC decision, which only covered 4,915 hectares of the more than 6,000-hectare hacienda. The coverage was further reduced to 4,099 hectares after the DAR survey excluded roads, bridges, canals, and other areas that farmers believe to be of commercial value.

After all the exclusions, each farmer beneficiary is now only allotted 0.66 hectares of land, which farmers say will easily revert back to the Cojuangcos if the “sham” land distribution proceeds unchallenged.

But challenging landlords and their alleged “cohorts” in the Aquino administration has a steep price.

Colleagues show a photo of slain farmer Dennis de la Cruz (middle). (Ilang-Ilang Quijano)

Last November 1, 28 year-old farmer Dennis de la Cruz was killed after a night of standing watch over the “bungkalan.” At 6 a.m., he was found dead by the road in Brgy. Balete, beside an electric post that fell during the storm Santi. He was stabbed on his side with an icepick.

Sibayan, who saw the body, said that it was obviously foul play related to their continuing struggle for land.

Previously, de la Cruz was being pressured by Tadeco guards to abandon his fields, which he made abundant last year with rice and vegetables such as eggplant, okra, tomatoes, bitter gourd, and string beans.

Such incidents of harassment and outright violence have stricken terror into the hearts of the farmers. “Now, I don’t go out at night. I never sleep at my own house anymore,” said Sibayan, who recalled receiving house visits by armed men when she started becoming an outspoken leader.

Sibayan is a survivor of the 2004 Hacienda Luisita massacre. A bullet grazed her back after she saved a fellow worker who was being beaten and dragged away by military men.

When the “bungkalan” started, Sibayan was elated that she and her fellow farmers were finally able to till their own land. For her, it was way better than receiving P9.50 per day as a hacienda worker. Her family didn’t run out of rice to eat, and she was able to sell vegetables at least twice a week.

But she realized that their struggle was not over; it was just beginning. “If we don’t remain vigilant, our gains will be lost. We have sacrificed too much to let that happen. We will continue to fight,” she said.

On the 27th anniversary of the Mendiola Massacre, farmers call for the ouster of the ‘landlord president’ BS Aquino. (Ilang-Ilang Quijano)

Development plans advertised in Hacienda Luisita show that the Cojuangcos “will never give up” the estate. (Contributed Photo/Ambala)

The payment of P471 million to President Aquino’s family by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is tantamount to “brazen” fraud and plunder, the peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) today said.

The KMP demands that the money be returned to the government and that the Cojuangcos pay the “billion-peso debt they owe to the farmworkers of Hacienda Luisita” instead.

The farmers issued the statement after a report quoted Anthony Parungao, DAR undersecretary for legal affairs, that the payment has been made to Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) and reported to the Supreme Court in October last year.

Hacienda Luisita is at the center of a still raging agrarian dispute, as the Cojuangco’s Tarlac Development Corporation (Tadeco) continues to bulldoze and claim lands already occupied by farmworker beneficiaries.

“P471 million of taxpayer’s money was used to pay the Cojuangcos for the land while, at the same time, the President’s family still controls and are continuously fencing vast tracts of lands inside Hacienda Luisita,” said KMP chairperson Rafael Mariano.

 Aside from bulldozing and fencing activities by Tadeco in 400 hectares in the villages of Cutcut and Balete, the Cojuangcos are still exercising control over the sprawling estate through the “arriendo system” or leasing of lands from farmers using “dummies.”

One such dummy pinpointed by the farmers is presidential appointee former Land Transportation Office chief Virginia Torres, a shooting buddy of President Aquino.

Mariano added that a development plan called Luisita Industrial Park III also demonstrates that “the President’s family will never let go of Luisita.”

The third phase of the Luisita development plan allegedly consists of a 260-hectare industrial city with residential, recreational, industrial, and commercial uses.

The KMP further said that the multi-million peso payment to the Cojuangcos show how President Aquino’s family has made a milking cow out of the “bogus” Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Last Wednesday, the farmers protested inside the House of Representatives during the hearing of a proposal to extend CARP for another five years. The farmers were forcibly dispersed by guards.

The peasant group demanded that President Aquino and his relatives return the P417 million to the nation’s coffers. It also called on HLI to immediately heed by the SC decision to pay the farmworkers P1.33 billion for the “illegal” sale of almost 300 hectares for the Luisita Industrial Park and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway or SCTEX road network.

Bloodied face of Barry Ohaylan. (Kilab Multimedia)

Scores of protesters were hurt after police violently dispersed their protest rally in front of a military headquarters on Thursday, Feb. 13.

According to Davao Today, almost 2000 farmers and small scale miners from Compostela Valley, including workers and urban poor of Davao City  protesting in front  of Eastern Mindanao Command Headquarters, were violently dispersed.

The protesters denounced the encampment of military inside their communities and demanded immediate pull out of soldiers.  Barry Ohaylan of the Kilab Multimedia and a Pinoy Weekly correspondent was badly hit  by truncheons of  police dispersal unit.

Photos of the dispersal, taken by Ohaylan and Kilab:

(Kilab Multimedia)

(KIlab Multimedia)

Actors Angeli Bayani and Karl Medina join the formation of Luisita Watch. Contributed Photo/Kiri Dalena

A network to “keep watch” over the continuing agrarian unrest in Hacienda Luisita was formed amid efforts by the Cojuangco-Aquinos to remain in control of the estate through land grabbing led by the Tarlac Development Corporation (Tadeco).

Luisita Watch, a network of individuals and organizations “advocating the cause of Hacienda Luisita farmers” was launched last February 21 at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Showing up in support of the network were award-winning independent actors Angeli Bayani and Karl Medina, students, members of the academe, and other advocates.

Farmers ‘swindled’

Christopher Garcia, spokesperson of Ambala (Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita) thanked supporters for exposing incidents of land grabbing and violence, such as burning of huts, bulldozing of crops, mauling and arrest of farmers.

“Napakahalaga ng inyong suporta, dahil ang isyu ng mga magsasaka at aming pag-unlad ay isyu nating lahat,” he said. (Your support is crucial, because the issues that we farmers face is an issue of the whole nation.)

Luisita farmers say that they have been “swindled” out of the Supreme Court and Department of Agrarian Reform’s (DAR) decision to reduce to coverage of land distribution in Luisita from 6,453 hectares to merely 4,099 hectares.

And while the DAR has declared that land distribution in Luisita is over, farmers say that Tadeco is continuing to chase them off their lands by bulldozing their crops and fencing off more than 400 hectares.

Meanwhile, other farmers, under pressure, are leasing their lands to sugarcane growers connected to the Cojuangco-Aquino family.

Aside from facing land grabbing threats by Tadeco, farmers are also questioning the P471.5 million paid by the government to the Cojuangco-Aquinos last year as “just compensation” under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. They say that “there is nothing just” about using taxpayers’ money to pay landlords for land that was taken from them.

Call to citizens: report developments

In support of the farmers, UP Prof. Danilo Arao said that the dominant mass media has been amiss in its duty to report the alarming developments in Hacienda Luisita, which farmers warn could lead to violence akin to the 2004 massacre.

“The media rarely reports about what happens in the countryside. They do not give enough prominence to what happens to our farmers. Sadly, they only pay attention when someone dies,” he said.

According to Arao, concerned citizens must make use of the social media to “ensure the virality of the issue.” “The mass media cannot accurately mirror social reality, so we must do what we can to shape public opinion,” he added.

Arao further encouraged citizens to oppose the Cybercrime Prevention Act and its provision on online libel, saying that it imperils the freedom of Luisita farmers and their advocates to report on developments through the social media.

Angie Ipong, secretary general of the human rights group SELDA, meanwhile reminded the public that this year is the 10th anniversary of the Hacienda Luisita massacre, wherein seven farmers were killed and scores were injured. “Not one perpetrator has been brought to justice,” she said.

Former representative Liza Maza also said that the development planned by Tadeco in Hacienda Luisita is in line with President Aquino’s economic policies dictated upon by foreign business chambers, which are pushing for Charter Change.

“The push to amend the economic provisions in the  1987 Constitution is reflected in what is happening in Hacienda Luisita. Farmers are being driven away in lands the government wants to reserve for big foreign investors. We must thus also oppose Cha-Cha being railroaded in Congress today,” Maza said.

More than a hundred students and other supporters from the church, academe, and artists community attended the launch, which culminated in a signing of a “For Land and Justice” tarpaulin.

Luisita Watch has set up accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to ensure that incidents of land grabbing and harassment of farmers do not go unnoticed.

Fronting the huge tract of agricultural land in Brgy. Balete in Hacienda Luisita was a long concrete fence and a sign that said “Development soon to rise”.

But on March 6, two days before the International Women’s Day, it was the women of Hacienda Luisita who rose. For months now, these women were among the farmer-beneficiaries of the land claimed by the family of President Aquino who have been subjected to violence by state agents and private armed goons of the Cojuangcos. In Balete, the Cojuangco-owned company, Tarlac Development Company, has been destroying crops planted by the farmers. The women formed part of the community resistance, but many have been beaten up and arrested, and continue to be threatened with more harm. The Supreme Court, in 2011, had ordered the Aquino government to distribute Luisita to its rightful owners, the farmers. But until now, this has yet to happen, even as the Cojuangcos carry on with their land grabbing, with the help of the government.

Long fed up with the insults and attacks, the theft and betrayal, and with the help of some infectiously danceable music, the women gathered in front of the sign that day. Their fingers, like their anger, rose to conclude the pop beat. They furiously danced, alternately clapping, pointing their fingers in the air and hoisting their clenched fists. “Down with the Cojuangcos! Justice for us, farm workers!” If dance could only smash concrete and barbed wire, Barangay Balete would be a liberated zone.

“Their alliances are strong,” said Monique Wilson, theater artist and global director for One Billion Rising for Justice (OBR4J), of the women of Hacienda Luisita. “Their sufferings are great. They are used to it. But you can also sense their frustrations and anger. ” Wilson joined the Luisita women in dancing the OBR Philippines dance–as a creative protest against the land grabbing, harassments and lack of genuine agrarian reform. “Their struggle is a life or death struggle.  To even dance in front of the military, and the place (that was forcibly taken from them)–it is not just symbolic. It is really powerful.”

Flashing the One Billion sign in front of the tract of land grabbed by the Cojuangcos. KR Guda

The Luisita women alternately flashed the One Billion sign and raised their fists as a sign of protest. KR Guda

The call of OBR4J campaign is to dance and protest in sites of injustice, just as the Luisita women had done, said Monique Wilson. KR Guda

Children walk around the area now fenced with concrete and barbed wires. The tract of land used to be their playground. It used their farms where their parents planted various crops, from rice to vegetables. KR Guda

A Luisita woman reads Pinoy Weekly in a makeshift bunkhouse for the protesting farmers, right beside the concrete fence put up by Tadeco. KR Guda

Some 50 families of Sitio Maligaya in Brgy. Mapalacsiao, Tarlac City, have become latest victims of land grabbing by the Cojuangco-Aquino family in Hacienda Luisita. Contributed Photo

Another company owned by the Cojuangco-Aquino family has been grabbing lands in the disputed farmlands inside the sugar estate.

This is according to Anakpawis Party-list, which slammed the move of Central Azucarera de Tarlac (CAT) to deploy armed security groups and illegally fence and bulldoze an estimated 200 hectares of farmlands in Brgys. Mapalacsiao and Parang in Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac that started on March 5.

“It is an alarming trend in Hacienda Luista that farm lands supposed to be distributed to farmer beneficiaries are being excluded through dubious, illegal, immoral and violent means led by different Cojuangco-Aquino corporations,” said Anakpawis Rep. Fernando Hicap.

Hicap said CAT (like the Tarlac Development Corporation or Tadeco) has no right to claim or exclude farm lands for distribution as the Supreme Court recognized the farm workers ownership of Luisita. “Because it is theirs (farmer-beneficiaries) in the first place. The Cojuangco-Aquinos don’t own even a plot of land in Hacienda Luisita in the first place,” Hicap said.

‘Family effort land grabbing’

The Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala), meanwhile, said that the President’s sister and actress Kris Aquino, like the rest of the members of the board of directors of the CAT, should be liable for criminal infringement related to the ongoing violent bulldozing and fencing off of 214 hectares of agricultural lands in Brgys. Mapalacsiao and Parang in Hacienda Luisita.

The President’s sister successfully pursued a seat on the CAT board just last October. Ambala sees this as a move to consolidate Cojuangco-Aquino’s influence in Hacienda Luisita and a prepare for the media celebrity’s supposed gubernatorial bid in Tarlac for the 2016 elections.

“The continued aggressive claim of CAT and other corporate avatars of the Cojuangco-Aquinos on the lands that supposedly belong to the actual tillers speaks much of the Presidential family’s anti-peasant practices and could in fact gravely affect Kris Aquino’s political ambitions in Tarlac,” said Florida Sibayan, chairperson of Ambala.

Hicap also blamed the Department of Agrarian Reform for the continuing social unrest in Hacienda Luisita. “The DAR or the ‘Department of Aquino Land Reform’ served its purpose (of acceding to) the interest of the president’s clan,” he said.

He added that DAR implemented a chaotic, confusing and questionable land reform distribution process by way of a “tambiolo system”. While it is silent on Tadeco and CAT’s land grabbing escapade, it turns deaf and blind on the latter’s legal action of filing trump-up charges against the farm workers.

“What we have right now in Hacienda Luisita is a family effort land grabbing affair. They not only defy but twist a court decision to protect their economic interest.” said Hicap.

Several hundreds of hectares have been secured by another Cojuangco-Aquino company, the Tarlac Development Corporation (Tadeco), in Brgy. Balete after a series of violent attacks by Tadeco guards and Tarlac PNP men against Balete farmers since December 2014.

Farmers have consistently asserted their right over the disputed  lands, but have been excluded from the total area of distributable Hacienda Luisita lands.

According to Sibayan, the disputed lands must be covered by the DAR for distribution as per the explicit provision of the Hacienda Luisita Supreme Court ruling of April 24, 2012 which instructs the DAR to find all other agricultural lands besides the 4,915 hectares officially declared distributable.

The lands, which have been supposedly included in the land distribution process, according to the group, have not yet been physically awarded to the so-called Luisita farmer-beneficiaries.

“These lands are instead being usurped and controlled by sugar cane production financiers who are said to be mere pawns themselves of the Cojuangco-Aquinos,” said Sibayan.

Deceptive measures

Farmers also criticized Tadeco, which has been circulating a petition to bolster their claims over the disputed hundreds of land and will bring peace and development to the Luisita farmers.

Ambala said the petition entitled “Manifesto of the Residents of Hacienda Luisita” has been circulating in ten barangays together with a newsletter published by Luisita Advocacies, Public Information Service (Lapis).

“This petition is deceptive and distributed by a shady entity called Lapis,” the group said.

They also said that the current petition is no different from the referenda in 1989 and 2010, which skirted land distribution. “Such measures of deceit have long been the trademark style of the Cojuangco-Aquino clan in Hacienda Luisita, complementing its equally-proven propensity to employ violence in the name of its big-landlord interests,” the group added.

Lapis stated that Tadeco’s development of its 358 hectares of land would propel Tarlac’s economy but was scuttled by the Department of Agrarian Reform’s (DAR) Notice of Coverage on the said lands.

“It failed to state though that the 31st Mechanized Battalion has a detachment right inside in the disputed lands, particularly in Barangay Balete and police including a fully armed SWAT team that were used in an illegal eviction action that Tadeco ordered in the said village on December 21st, 2013,” Sibayan said, refering to Lapis’ denial of ongoing militarization in the area.

“The unabated agrarian unrest in Hacienda Luisita is escalating in a pace comparable to that of the tension which led to the tragic Hacienda Luisita massacre ten years ago, the main perpetrators of which, the family of Kris Aquino and the Philippine President himself, have yet to be prosecuted much less punished,” the group said.