“The plight of the farm workers in Hacienda Luisita reflects the picture of the whole Philippine society under the BS Aquino presidency,” Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general said. “The inhuman PhP9.50 daily wage of workers’, the use of all state machineries such as the military and paramilitary against the farm workers, the use of law and other government agencies to cover-up exploitation and repression, and to ensure their clan’s control of the hacienda—this is Hacienda Luisita, and this is the Philippines,” Palabay said.
“The plight of the farm workers in Hacienda Luisita reflects the picture of the whole Philippine society under the BS Aquino presidency,” Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general said. “The inhuman PhP9.50 daily wage of workers’, the use of all state machineries such as the military and paramilitary against the farm workers, the use of law and other government agencies to cover-up exploitation and repression, and to ensure their clan’s control of the hacienda—this is Hacienda Luisita, and this is the Philippines,” Palabay said.
Karapatan joined Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and Unyon ng Mangangawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) in holding BS Aquino criminally accountable for the death of seven farm workers during the massacre 10 years ago, and the continuing human rights violations in Hacienda Luisita.
“Just as BS Aquino was quick to defend himself on his administration’s negligence of Yolanda victims’ plight, Aquino was also quick to deliver a privilege speech in defense of the Cojuangco-Aquino clan a day after the Hacienda Luisita massacre in 2004,” she added. During his speech, Aquino, then a congressional representative of Tarlac, hastily blamed the protesting workers and claimed they fired the first shots.
Even the National Bureau of Investigation report on the incident would prove BS Aquino lied, “the government side was armed with high powered weapons while the protesters were only armed with stones, Molotov bombs, baton, and other effects. The latter have no matched to the former.” The said report also indicated, “… nobody from the government side was hit by bullets although they claimed that the first volley of fires came from the protesters. And several rounds of spent ammunitions and various firearms were allegedly recovered from the sites of the protesters.”
Reports had it that BS Aquino personally took charge of the Hacienda’s security when the workers’ strike broke out. The day before the massacre, he personally called Dept. of Labor and Employment Sec. Patricia Sto. Tomas and requested for deployment of military and police claiming that the situation in the Hacienda was becoming intense.
“Accounts of the farmworkers prove that BS Aquino is among those accountable to the massacre 10 years ago. Much as he wants to, he cannot come clean. His hands were already bloodied even before he became president. With the 216 victims of extrajudicial killings and 207 frustrated killings under his presidency, BS Aquino now bathes in blood of his many victims. This is too much, too many. He should be removed from his post immediately,” Palabay said. ###