Militant farmers hit Luisita deal

MANILA, Philippines -  Militant farmers yesterday condemned what they described as the “conspiratorial” agreement between the owners of Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) and farmers that resolved the decades-old dispute over the implementation of the agrarian reform program in the sugar estate.

According to the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), the personalities who signed the agreement Friday on behalf of farmers working in the hacienda were “fake.”

“This is very enraging as they could not deceive the legitimate claimants of Hacienda Luisita. They resorted to conspiracy with self-proclaimed representatives of farmer-beneficiaries,” said KMP secretary-general Danilo Ramos.

Ramos accused the Cojuangco and Aquino families, the owners of the hacienda, of deception and trickery in convincing the farmers they had a legitimate deal.

“We condemn this newest form of deception and trickery launched by the Cojuangco-Aquinos,” Ramos said.

Ramos led other groups that included the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA), Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (AMBALA) and United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU) in issuing a statement naming Noel Mallari and Eldifonso Pungol as “fake” representatives.

Mallari signed the agreement in behalf of AMBALA while Pungol represented ULWU in signing the four-page compromise agreement with the HLI, represented by Eufrocinio de la Merced Jr. on Friday.

The HLI and the Tarlac Development Corp. (TDC) have agreed to end the 21-year dispute by allowing the farmer-beneficiaries to own the parcel of land they are tilling as their mode of compliance with the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) or choose the stock distribution option (SDO) as agreed upon in the Memorandum of Agreement signed in 1989.

But the farmers’ groups alleged Mallari and Pungol are not legitimate members of AMBALA and ULWU, respectively.

Ramos alleged Pungol had detached from ULWU and sided with the HLI management several years ago.

Ramos said AMBALA and ULWU would never enter into any form of agreement with the owners of the sugar estate.

“This is one of the highest form of trickery a landed family has done to exploit poor farmers like us. The Cojuangco-Aquinos should be ashamed of themselves as they claim they are for change and democracy but now they are resorting to all-out deception and fraud. This is very sickening and unacceptable,” AMBALA chairman Felix Nacpil said.

The agreement provides for farmer-beneficiaries to choose between having a share involving a 1,400-hectare portion of HLI under the SDO model, or be given lands and surrender their share to TDC.

An additional P150 million in financial assistance will be made available to those who settle their claims from which P20 million would be given upon signing of the agreement.

“We have heard of this offer in 2007, but we publicly denounced this deceptive scheme. The Cojuangco-Aquinos were then talking to Mallari who was not with AMBALA,” Nacpil said.

He added Mallari belonged to another group which eventually kicked him out allegedly for taking sides with the management.

AMBALA and ULWU lawyer Jobert Pahilga said the agreement was a clear case of misrepresentation.

“This is a clear misrepresentation, immoral, illegal and unjust. The Hacienda Luisita Inc. should be reprimanded for undermining the imminent oral arguments at the Supreme Court (SC),” Pahilga said. 

He said the SC has the list of legitimate farmer-beneficiaries on the issue of granting the SDO that was being questioned by farmers’ groups since it was implemented in 1989.

AMBALA and ULWU said they are preparing their members for the oral arguments of the case before the SC on Aug. 18. 

The KMP, on the other hand, will lead the protest before the SC.

“We shall prove who are the legitimate farmer-beneficiaries of Hacienda Luisita. We will show that the Cojuangco-Aquinos are dealing with frauds and cheaters,” Ramos added.

“We are now dubbing it as the ‘Hacienda Luisita scam’ and not a ‘breakthrough deal’ as they claim,” he said.

Other groups supporting the cause of the affected farmers urged Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes to break his silence and oppose the deal.

“We strongly ask DAR Secretary De los Reyes to rise above the occasion and take a stand against a deal that compromised the land rights and future of more than 10,000 farmer-beneficiaries in Hacienda Luisita,” Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamalakaya ng Pilipinas chairman Fernando Hicap said.

DAR Undersecretary Narciso Nieto said they have yet to get a copy of the agreement and will wait for the SC order before they comment on the issue.

“We are just able to get updates from what we read in the newspapers. We haven’t seen a copy of the agreement yet, though what should be taken into consideration here is that if the farmers who signed really represent a majority of the farmers working in the Hacienda and the petitioners at the Supreme Court,” Nieto said.

Nieto stressed the need to check if the agreement does not violate agrarian laws and jurisprudence.

Defeating the purpose

The SC took over the question on the legality of the SDO under the CARP that was adopted by the Cojuangcos and farmers in a Memorandum of Agreement signed in 1989.

The SDO plan was recalled by the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) and then Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman in 2005 following complaints from AMBALA that the scheme defeated the purpose of CARP and put them at a disadvantage.

The HLI immediately filed a petition before the SC in February 2006 seeking the invalidation of the DAR order recalling the SDO agreement between the hacienda owners and some 5,498 farmers.

The HLI also sought the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) to enjoin the government from distributing the sugar estate to the farmers under the CARP.

Under the CARP’s compulsory or mandated land acquisition scheme, the government will pay the landowner the cost of the property that will be distributed to the farmers.

Under the CARP, the land value of Hacienda Luisita will be assessed to determine the cost.

But the farmers and the HLI ended their decades-long dispute by signing an agreement on Friday that would allow the farmers to own a patch of the estate or continue as stockholders of the sugar firm.

President Aquino yesterday said he would not have any involvement in the agreement between the farmers and owners of the hacienda.

Asked if he had any directives in relation to the case, Mr. Aquino said, “None as far as Luisita is concerned. The issue is sub judice.”

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Mr. Aquino would just stay out of the dispute and allow the parties concerned to resolve the issue on their own.

Lacierda said Mr. Aquino left it up to his relatives to deal with the farmers, since he had already divested his one percent shareholding in the hacienda.

He said the President was only informed that an agreement was being worked on but was not privy to the details of the negotiations.

Lacierda said it would be up to the SC to approve the agreement. - With Aurea Calica