Terror not land ownership reigns in Noynoy’s Luisita

From the Daily Tribune (Nov 3): Terror not land ownership reigns in Noynoy’s Luisita

A farmers’ group protested yesterday what it termed as a reign of terror inside the Hacienda Luisita owned by President Aquino’s family despite the government announcement last month that it completed the distribution of land titles to farm workers in compliance with the agrarian reform law.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said last Oct. 20 that it had successfully completed the series of distribution of Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) to farmer beneficiaries in Hacienda Luisita.

“The land in Hacienda Luisita is now theirs,” said DAR Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes, referring to the about 663 out of 745 farmworker-beneficiaries of Barangay Mapalacsiao.

Mapalacsiao was the last barangay scheduled for CLOAs distribution in Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac City that started last September 30 in Barangay Pando, according to De los Reyes.

The regional farmers’ group Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon (AMGL, Farmers’ Alliance in Central Luzon), however, said in a statement that an intensified assault against its chapter in Hacienda Luisita, the Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala, Farm Workers’ Alliance in Hacienda Luisita) is being undertaken by the Cojuangco-Aquino family, particularly its controlled firm, the Tarlac Dev’t Corp. (Tadeco).

“It has been reported that when the Dept. of Agrarian Reform (DAR) commenced with the raffle-distribution of CLOAs since October, Tadeco and another Cojuangco corporation, Luisita

Realty Corp. have put up fences around a 100-hectare land in barangay Cutcut and about 400 hectares in barangay Balete and recently last October 31, Dennis Dela Cruz, a leader of Ambala was murdered in barangay Balete. Dela Cruz was actively working at a ‘bungkalan’ cultivation site, AMGL said.

“Hacienda Luisita is under a reign of terror, perpetrated by the Aquino government and the Cojuangco-Aquino family. They have sabotaged the Supreme Court decision to distribute the lands using the partial schemes implemented by DAR, and now a leader of Ambala was mercilessly killed,” AMGL chairman Joseph Canlas said.

Ambala stated that it believed the murder of Dela Cruz is connected to the land issue as he was a staunch activist working with the bungkalan campaign, and was threatened by Tadeco security guards last September.

The group said that the killing was done to terrorize farm workers who are fighting for their rights to land against the plot of the Cojuangco-Aquino family.

In addition, Ambala reported that military deployment in Hacienda Luisita is intensifying with at least four military tanks seen entering the estate.

“The Aquino government deployed many elements of the police and military during the so-called CLOA distribution by DAR, to subvert the protest of the farm workers. Now they are actually sending in more forces to intimidate the unarmed farm workers led by Ambala,” Canlas said.

AMGL said the Cojuangco-Aquino family is firm in keeping their control over the vast lands of Hacienda Luisita expecting billions of profit due to recent road developments in the area.

Agricultural land valuation around the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx) ranges from P1 million to P6 million per hectare or P100 per square meter to P600 per square meter, AMGL said.

It added reclassifying these lands, as the Cojuangco-Aquino family has prepared in the land use plan furnished by the Luisita Realty Corp. in 1998, will obviously bring in unimaginable profit.

“The Cojuangco-Aquinos are notorious in violently attacking the farm workers. It was under martial law during the Marcos dictatorship, de-facto martial law during Hacienda Luisita massacre and Oplan Bantay Laya, they are now again waging terror against the farm workers,” Canlas said.

Amgl said it is reiterating its call for genuine land reform in Hacienda Luisita, immediate and free land distribution to the farm workers and halt to terror tactics launched by the Cojuangco-Aquinos.

“Inside Hacienda Luisita is like a time-space warp where you would think that it is still during the Spanish colonization where hacienderos rule with iron-fist and slaughtering those who oppose them. The Cojuangco-Aquinos are social parasites who fed from the sweat and blood of the farm workers. It is long overdure to overthrow their feudal control over the lands and we call on different sectors to struggle for national democracy,” Canlas added.

Based on DAR data, the government claimed a total of 5,718 CLOAs were distributed to farmers out of a total of 6,189 ready for distribution, or 92.39 percent of the CLOAs registered to date.

According to De los Reyes, the CLOAs of other beneficiaries are still being registered with the Registry of Deeds.

Others are still not generated or pending because some FWBs who are out of the country have not yet signed their Application to Purchase and Farmers Undertaking (APFU).

De los Reyes said that those who were not able to receive their CLOAs during the scheduled distribution activities in the barangays can proceed to the DAR provincial office to get their certified true copies.

He said that after the distribution of certified true copies of the CLOAs, the DAR is preparing to install the farm worker beneficiaries in their lots.

“We will be installing them in their lots as we progress with the ‘monumenting’,” de los Reyes said.

He explained that it is quite impossible to do this at this time when many of the lots are still planted with sugarcane.

However, he assured the farm workers that monumenting will be done when harvesting starts this month so that they will be able to clear the area where the ‘mohons’ will be placed.
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/terror-not-land-ownership-reigns-in-noynoy-s-luisita