Jose "Peping" Cojuangc, Jr., blaiming
"outsiders" and "leftists" for the
Hacienda Luisita mess
"outsiders" and "leftists" for the
Hacienda Luisita mess
The regional farmer group Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson (Amgl, Peasant Alliance in Central Luzon) deny the claim of president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino’s uncle Jose “Peping” Cojuangco, Jr. that “outsiders” and “leftists” are causing trouble on the issue.
“Actually, the Cojuangco-Aquinos are the real outsiders of Hacienda Luisita as they have never stepped on the mud, dropped sweat and labored on the land. Felix Nacpil, the late Federico Laza, Boy Dizon, the Laderas, the ancestors of Rene Galang, Lito Bais, Rodel Mesa and many others are the original developers of the land. The Cojuangco-Aquinos are also the ones who deploy forces of the military such as the army’s 70th Infantry Battalion to terrorize the farmworkers. They are the troublemaker, menace against the farmworkers who developed the hacienda,” Joseph Canlas, Amgl chairperson, said in a press statement.
“We have the right and duty to support the farmers of Hacienda Luisita, as their struggle for genuine land reform is also ours. They are our members and we have responsibility to reinforce their struggle,” he added. Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala, Farmworkers Alliance in Hacienda Luisita) is a member organization of Amgl. Canlas said that protests calling for the distribution of land are always led by farmworkers, thus, Peping Cojuangco is a total charlatan.
The group said that it is very clear that the Cojuangcos used public funds to acquire Hacienda Luisita in 1957 with the condition that it would be distributed to the farmworkers in 10 years. But they are now claiming the lands their own, clinging on control and repressing farmers’ struggle for genuine land reform.
“Peping Cojuangco sounded like a cold-blooded landlord, blaming others for the mess, he could not hide his backward mentality and opposition of land reform. The Cojuangcos are always in amnesia about how they acquired the land,” Canlas said.
Amgl also said that the estate used to be owned by a Spanish agro-corporation Tabacaleras should have been distributed to the farmworkers as they were compelled by the presence of the Hukbalahap in the 1950s. Then president Ramon Magsaysay facilitated the transfer of control to the Cojuangcos, represented by president Aquino’s grandfather Jose “Don Pepe” Cojuangco.
The group also said that the time is ticking against president Aquino who play “dumb” and incapacitated on the issue. They said that it is not true that the president is not interfering as the Dept. of Agrarian Reform (DAR), office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) ill-defended its PARC Resolution 2005-32-1 during the oral arguments at the Supreme Court.
“The only source of disorder on the Hacienda Luisita issue are the Cojuangco-Aquinos who intend to rewrite history, deprive the farmworkers of their rightful claim, continue to terrorize by using the military, on the other hand, the agents of reform and change are the farmworkers and their supporters who propose a better future for their next generation,” Canlas said. #
“Actually, the Cojuangco-Aquinos are the real outsiders of Hacienda Luisita as they have never stepped on the mud, dropped sweat and labored on the land. Felix Nacpil, the late Federico Laza, Boy Dizon, the Laderas, the ancestors of Rene Galang, Lito Bais, Rodel Mesa and many others are the original developers of the land. The Cojuangco-Aquinos are also the ones who deploy forces of the military such as the army’s 70th Infantry Battalion to terrorize the farmworkers. They are the troublemaker, menace against the farmworkers who developed the hacienda,” Joseph Canlas, Amgl chairperson, said in a press statement.
“We have the right and duty to support the farmers of Hacienda Luisita, as their struggle for genuine land reform is also ours. They are our members and we have responsibility to reinforce their struggle,” he added. Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala, Farmworkers Alliance in Hacienda Luisita) is a member organization of Amgl. Canlas said that protests calling for the distribution of land are always led by farmworkers, thus, Peping Cojuangco is a total charlatan.
The group said that it is very clear that the Cojuangcos used public funds to acquire Hacienda Luisita in 1957 with the condition that it would be distributed to the farmworkers in 10 years. But they are now claiming the lands their own, clinging on control and repressing farmers’ struggle for genuine land reform.
“Peping Cojuangco sounded like a cold-blooded landlord, blaming others for the mess, he could not hide his backward mentality and opposition of land reform. The Cojuangcos are always in amnesia about how they acquired the land,” Canlas said.
Amgl also said that the estate used to be owned by a Spanish agro-corporation Tabacaleras should have been distributed to the farmworkers as they were compelled by the presence of the Hukbalahap in the 1950s. Then president Ramon Magsaysay facilitated the transfer of control to the Cojuangcos, represented by president Aquino’s grandfather Jose “Don Pepe” Cojuangco.
The group also said that the time is ticking against president Aquino who play “dumb” and incapacitated on the issue. They said that it is not true that the president is not interfering as the Dept. of Agrarian Reform (DAR), office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) ill-defended its PARC Resolution 2005-32-1 during the oral arguments at the Supreme Court.
“The only source of disorder on the Hacienda Luisita issue are the Cojuangco-Aquinos who intend to rewrite history, deprive the farmworkers of their rightful claim, continue to terrorize by using the military, on the other hand, the agents of reform and change are the farmworkers and their supporters who propose a better future for their next generation,” Canlas said. #
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