HLMX
“The case of Hacienda Luisita reflects the hypocrisy of the Aquino government—all these talks about land reform, ‘kayo ang boss ko’ and righteous path. If there’s one thing that succinctly describes the government’s double talk, it’s Hacienda Luisita,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay.
HLMX
“The case of Hacienda Luisita reflects the hypocrisy of the Aquino government—all these talks about land reform, ‘kayo ang boss ko’ and righteous path. If there’s one thing that succinctly describes the government’s double talk, it’s Hacienda Luisita,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay.
A decade ago today, November 6, farmworkers of Hacienda Luisita launched a strike against the Cojuangco-Aquino-owned Hacienda Luisita, Inc. Some 5,000 farmworkers, all members of the United Luisita Workers’ Union (ULWU) were joined by about 700 sugar mill workers under the Central Azucarera de Tarlac Labor Union (CATLU).
“The struggle of the peasants and workers of Hacienda Luisita deserves public attention because it embodies how generations of landlord-bureaucrats used law and terror to further exploit and oppress the farmworkers and to keep the almost 6,500 hectares of Hacienda Luisita all to themselves,” said Palabay.
The farmworkers’ strike was a culmination of a series of actions they took to address the joblessness and other ploys the Cojuangco-Aquinos used to keep the hacienda workers’ wages low. “Today, we also remember the Php 9.50 a day wage that the farmworkers were getting from the Cojuangco-Aquinos. Some were even getting Php 9.50 a week,” added Palabay.
The strike ended in what is now known as the Hacienda Luisita massacre, which led to the death of seven people, 121 seriously injured and hundreds of farmworkers arrested. Since then, terror inside the Hacienda has not stopped.
A documentation made by the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) said the Yellow Army, maintained by the Conjuanco-Aquinos in the 1980s, was replaced by the Luisita Estate Management after the massacre. The LEM tapped the military to sow terror in the Hacienda.
When BS Aquino assumed presidency, AFP troops were deployed in the Hacienda, aside from the presence of the Civilian Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) and members of the Philippine National Police (PNP). There are military detachments of the 701st IBPA in 10 villages of Hacienda Luisita.
“The state forces are involved in harassment, mauling, and arrests of farmworkers, burning of farm houses, destruction of fields planted with vegetables and other crops, indiscriminate firing, aside from the continuing legal maneuvers to evade Supreme Court’s decision to distribute the lands to the farmers. BS Aquino should be held accountable for all these violations,” said Palabay.