Luisita farmers to push genuine land reforms

MANILA, Philippines - A group of farmers in Hacienda Luisita vowed yesterday to intensify its campaign for genuine land reform and social justice in the controversial sugar estate in the coming weeks leading to the 9th anniversary of the so-called Hacienda Luisita massacre in November.

Members of the Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (AMBALA) are protesting the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)’s land distribution scheme in the sugar estate owned by the family of President Aquino.

Militant groups said 14 people – mostly protesters – were killed in the massacre carried out by soldiers and paramilitary groups.

AMBALA, in an omnibus motion filed with the Supreme Court in July, is questioning the Lot Allocation Certificate (LAC) distribution through tambiolo raffle, as well as the compulsory signing of the Application to Purchase and Farmers Understanding (APFU) document by farmer-beneficiaries.

The group said the DAR did not recognize the farmworkers’ bungkalan (tillage) initiative as well as their demand for free land distribution. The scheme has reportedly led to confusion and friction among beneficiaries and residents.

“Hacienda Luisita is situated in three towns, La Paz, Concepcion and Tarlac City – but six out of its 10 barangays including Bantog are located in Tarlac City. With the DAR’s latest survey, distributable land in Tarlac City has been reduced to only 1,000 hectares out of the original total of 6,453 hectares,” said Christopher Garcia, AMBALA spokesman.

“This will obviously result in the dislocation of numerous farmworker-beneficiaries. Many will be obliged to travel 20 kilometers everyday to till the DAR allocated farmlot or to simply surrender these lots to illicit and one-sided lease agreements. The DAR continues to deny this,” said Garcia.

He added that DAR has justified the reduction by claiming that the subject tracts of land were part of roads, canals, easements, firebreaks, the SCTEX, and the controversial 500-hectare “converted area.”