Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid ng Gitnang Luson (AMGL)
  • Home
  • Statements
  • Campaigns
  • Images
  • Resources
  • About
  • Peasant Struggle in Hacienda Luisita

Trumped up charges and arrest of leader of farm workers: Groups condemn continuing brutality in Hacienda Luisita, cite treason against BS Aquino

3/19/2014

0 Comments

 
PicturePictureTadeco converts farm lands in Hacienda Luisita. (Photo by HLPSN)

Various regional groups have denounced the latest arrest of the leader of farm workers, Florida Sibayan, acting chair of Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala, Farm Workers Alliance in Hacienda Luisita). Sibayan's  arrest was based on a warrant accusing her of threat charges filed by the Tarlac Development Corp. (Tadeco), controlled by the family of president Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino, the Cojuangco-Aquinos. The Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson (Amgl, Farmers Alliance in Central Luzon, affiliated with Ambala), Bagong Alyansang Makabayan – Central Luzon (Bayan – CL), Workers' Alliance in Region III (War III), Anakbayan – Central Luzon, Central Luzon Ayta Association (Claa), Aguman Dareng Maglalautang Capampangan (Amc), Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Tarlak (Amt) and Anakpawis Partylist – Central Luzon have condemned Sibayan's arrest and claimed that this is a manufactured charge, is part and parcel of the holistic offensive against the farm workers who are struggling for their rights to the land. The groups asserted that the Cojuangco-Aquino family is launching a feudal and fascist campaign against the farm workers, in light of raking off profits from selling and converting lands for the interests of foreign monopoly.

“We condemn to the highest degree possible the filing of trumped up charges and arrest of Sibayan and we demand her immediate and unconditional release. We hold the Cojuangco-Aquino's, especially BS Aquino responsible for this fascist attack,” Joseph Canlas said, Amgl chairperson and Anakpawis Party-list regional coordinator.

“We are anticipating these kind of tactics as we believe that Oplan Bayanihan has stepped up on its phase 2 of implementation,” Canlas added.

Oplan Bayanihan is the counter-insurgency program of the Aquino government based on the United States Counter-insurgency Guide or COIN. Amgl claimed that the Cojuangco-Aquinos are past the stage of deceiving the farmers such as the distribution of certificate of land ownership awards (cloa) by the Dept. of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and is on actually snatching lands from the farm workers such as the fences constructed by Tadeco last quarter of 2013 to early this year in barangayas Balete and Cutcut and now by Central Azucarera de Tarlac in barangays Mapalacsiao, with all operations secured by elements of the Phil. National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

The groups cited that the Cojuangco-Aquino clan has taken advantage of the stock distribution option (sdo) scheme, as provisioned by the Republic Act 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp) since 1989. The farm workers who actually labored on land were subjected into deep poverty and misery, thus, driving them to launch the 5,000-strong strike on November 6, 2004. Through the use of the assumption of jurisdiction (aj) order issued by the labor department of the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration, government forces opened fire at the striking farm workers on November 16, 2004 – “Hacienda Luisita massacre” killing 7 and wounding hundreds. The next day, the picket line was set up by the farm workers supported by multi-sectoral groups and a massive “bungkalan” campaign was launched by Ambala reaching at most 2,000-hectares in different barangays covered by the hacienda. The Hacienda Luisita, Inc. (HLI) controlled by the Cojuangco-Aquinos opposed the decision of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (Parc) to revocate the stock distribution option (sdo) scheme by filing for a temporary restraining order (tro) at the Supreme Court on June 2006. The farm workers sustained the campaign to pressure the Supreme Court, triggering a mass movement of various sectors until it decided for the revocation and distribution of Hacienda Luisita lands on November 24, 2011 and April 22, 2012. But as BS Aquino as president, farm workers opposed DAR's scheme of raffling out cloas, compensating the Cojuangco-Aquinos and obliging them to pay amortization. Consequently, Tadeco and now Cat are forcing farm workers out of the land and putting up fences.

“Based on its history, the peasant struggle in Hacienda Luisita is an anti-feudal, anti-fascist and anti-imperialist,” Roman Polintan said, Bayan – CL chairperson.

“Sugar production in the country is dictated by the demand of the US and world market since the American colonization. It is not a staple crop but a cash crop, where big landlords serve also as compradors for foreign monopoly capitalists,” Polintan said.

“The struggle for genuine land reform in Hacienda Luisita is actually a stepping stone into breaking out from the control of imperialism,” he added.

The groups said that the Cojuangco-Aquinos have evidently resorted to grabbing lands, converting and planning to sell them as revealed by the Hacienda Luisita land use plan. Tadeco has set up a signage saying “development soon to rise,” in brgy. Balete. The land use conversion plan is primarily composed of the Las Haciendas De Luisita Golf and Residential Community, regional shopping center, Luisita Business Park, Luisita Industrial Park, Centro Techno Park, Central Park, commercial-business district (cbd), an educational center, leisure farms and agricultural reserve. They added that as Hacienda Luisita was connected to the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (Sctex) and promoted through BS Aquino's Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program, the Cojuangco-Aquinos intended to rake up profits from the development projects.

“The grand plan of the Cojuangco-Aquinos is to serve foreign interests and not of the farm workers whose ancestors have tilled the land since Spanish colonial times,” Polintan said.

Thus, the groups said that BS Aquino as president, utilizing government resources and machineries such as the DAR, local courts, police and military should be held responsible for this systematic attack against the farm workers. It is a betrayal of public interest, essentially treason against the Filipino people.

“We accuse BS Aquino of treason as he has implemented policies and programs detrimental to the Filipino, where majority is the peasantry, especially those who tilled on his own backyard, the Hacienda Luisita farm workers,” Canlas said.

“Genuine land reform under the BS Aquino government is totally sham, likewise, nationalist industrialization a fantasy. With BS Aquino implementing programs such as PPP, Oplan Bayanihan, Visiting Forces Agreement – Balikatan military exercises, the untouched freedom of foreign monopoly to suck up profits through incessant oil price hikes, power and utility rates, privatization of social services, generally the neo-liberal policies of liberalization, deregulation and privatization, BS Aquino has sided with foreign interests and betrayed the Filipino people,” Canlas said.

“We assert the issue of Hacienda Luisita cannot be contained within the four walls of the courts and agencies, but shall be resolved outside on the streets where the mass movement crowding and shouting at Cojuangco-Aquinos' ears. We demand the immediate and unconditional freedom of Sibayan, or face the full wrath of the farmers and people from different sectors of Central Luzon demanding BS Aquino's resignation,” Canlas demanded. #

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    AMGL

    To struggle for Genuine Land Reform in Central Luzon and other regions of the country.

    Archives

    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011

    Categories

    All
    Agap Zambales
    Agap-zambales
    Agrarian Reform
    Agriculture
    Alabamas
    Alabamas Dam
    Almana 3100
    Amado Espino
    Ambala
    Amgl
    Amgl Ne
    Amgl-ne
    Amt
    Anakpawis
    Angara
    Angat Dam
    Aniban
    Apeco
    Aseza
    Aurora
    Ayala
    Ayta
    Balikatan
    Balingcanaway
    Balog Balog Dam
    Balog-balog Dam
    Bayambang
    Benguetcorp
    Bot
    Bungkalan
    Calen
    California Energy
    Caltex
    Camp Gregg
    Cancellation Of Cloa
    Carp
    Carper
    Casiguran
    Cat
    Central Azucarera De Tarlac
    Central Luzon
    Chief Justice
    Claa
    Clark International Airport Corp.
    Clex
    Cloa
    Clrdp
    Clt
    Coco Levy
    Cojuangco Aquino
    Cojuangco-Aquino
    Cojuangco-aquino
    Cojuangco Aquinos
    Cojuangcoaquinos6288a28430
    Cojuangcos
    Corruption
    Danding Cojuangco
    Dar
    Dionisio Manuel
    Dislocation
    Displacement
    Displacements
    Dmci
    Dswd
    Ecozones
    Edc
    Energy Development Corporation
    Environment
    Ep
    Extra Judicial Killings
    Extrajudicial Killings0e27260734
    Farmers
    Farmworkers
    Fertilizer Scam
    Feudalism
    Fisherfolk
    Fmmr
    Food Security
    Foreclosure
    Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation
    Gabriel Singson Jr9507b1ead5
    Garb
    Genuine Land Reform
    Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
    Gloria Macapagal-arroyo
    Gma
    Gmo
    Golden Rice
    Guimba
    Hacienda Dolores
    Hacienda Luisita
    Hacienda Luisita Massacre
    Harassment
    Human Rights
    Human Rights Violation
    Human Rights Violations
    Imperialism
    Indigenous People
    Irri
    Ism 2013
    Jica
    Joc Joc Bolante
    Joc-joc Bolante
    Kmp
    Landgrabbing
    Land Reform
    Land Use Conversion
    La Paz
    Liberalization Of Agriculture
    Luc
    Mambayu
    Manuel Lorenzo
    Marilou Abrilles
    Maro
    Martin Lorenzo
    Medium Term Development Plan
    Medium-term Development Plan
    Merceditas Gutierrez
    Militarization
    Mining
    Mining Act
    Mining. Mining Act 0f 1995
    Mlub
    Move Now!
    Mt.abo
    Nia
    Nlex
    Nlex East
    Nolcom
    Noynoy Aquino
    Nueva Ecija
    Oil
    Oil Deregulation
    Oil Deregulation Law
    Oil Price Hike
    Ombudsman
    Oph
    Oplan Bantay Laya
    Oplan Bayanihan
    Palay
    Palparan
    Pamana
    Pampanga
    Pangasinan
    Pantabangan
    Pantabangan Dam
    Paro
    Pep
    Peping Cojuangco
    Petron
    Philrice
    Porac
    Ppp
    Press Freedom
    Privatization
    Public Private Partnership
    Public-private Partnership
    Rcbc
    Referendum
    Relief
    Renato Corona
    Republic Act 10083
    Republic Act 6657
    Republic Act 9490
    Republic Act 9700
    Rice
    Rice Farmers
    Rice Industry
    Sctex
    Sdo
    Sdp
    Shell
    Sona
    Sona 2011
    St. Tropez
    Supreme Court
    Syngenta
    Tarlac
    Teddy Casino
    Tplex
    Typhoon Pedring
    Ulwu
    Us Imperialism
    Vfa
    Visiting Forces Agreement
    W Corridor
    W-corridor
    Willem Geertman
    Wto
    Zambales

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.