Win or lose, Noynoy has to face Luisita deadlock

Last of a five-part series “To Tita Cory, from your number one fan, Gloria." This dedication accompanied a yellow and white cake sent by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to former President Cory Aquino for the latter’s 71st birthday on January 25, 2004, an article on the front page of the Philippine Star reported the next day. The three-tiered cake, the report said, had a photograph of Aquino and Arroyo perched on top, with the image of Ninoy Aquino in the background. It was four months before the May 2004 presidential elections, ten months before the Hacienda Luisita massacre, and one-and-a-half years before the “Hello Garci" wiretapping controversy. Asked who she was supporting in the May 2004 elections, the Star quoted Kris Aquino saying, “I am for GMA (Gloria Arroyo’s initials) and Noli." Her brother, Tarlac Representative Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III, was also quoted saying he was supporting Arroyo and Noli de Castro in the elections, noting this was the stand of the Liberal Party. The Aquino-Arroyo alliance, however, would not survive the escalation of the Hello Garci and Hacienda Luisita investigations halfway through 2005. “Fruit of the poisoned tree" On June 30, 2005, Tarlac Representative Noynoy Aquino was one of the congressmen who voted against playing the Hello Garci tapes in Congress. The day before, the Philippine Star reported that Aquino called Arroyo’s televised apology (for calling an election official) a “good start" for her administration, and said Arroyo should be commended for admitting her mistake. Soon after Congress voted on the Garci tapes, Anakpawis Representative Rafael Mariano described Aquino’s vote as “political payback" to protect Arroyo, saying she was the “most powerful and influential patron" of the Cojuangco-Aquinos in the Hacienda Luisita dispute. During an interview with GMA’s Unang Hirit on March 15, 2010, however, Aquino denied he had acted in support of Arroyo when he voted not to play the Garci tapes in 2005. He said he made the decision because the tapes were illegally obtained, and were therefore inadmissible in an investigation. “May legal premise na ‘fruit of the poisoned tree.’ Papasok yung ebidensiya na hindi nakuha sa tamang pamamaraan, hindi magagamit sa paglilitis (There is a legal premise known as ‘fruit of the poisoned tree.’ Evidence obtained through improper means cannot be used in court)," Aquino said. The Anti-Wiretapping Law (RA 4200) was also the reason cited by the Arroyo government, through the Department of Justice and the National Telecommunications Commission, to issue warnings to congressmen and the media on June 8 and 11, 2005 not to play the Garci tapes. The Supreme Court ruled on February 15, 2008 that invoking the Anti-Wiretapping Law to prevent the playing of the tapes was a violation of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. EVAT—“the straw that broke the camel’s back" On July 8, 2005, Aquino and his mother Cory withdrew their support for Arroyo and joined the calls for the president to resign.
Excerpts from a wide-ranging interview with hosts Arnold Clavio, Malou Mangahas, and Howie Severino that was aired on the GMA News & Public Affairs show Kandidato on April 21, 2010, where presidential candidate Noynoy Aquino answered several questions about Hacienda Luisita, including the massacre and the SCTEX issue In an interview that was aired on the GMA News & Public Affairs program Kandidato on April 21, 2010, Aquino said his decision to withdraw support from Arroyo was not a consequence of the government’s investigation of Hacienda Luisita that was ongoing at that time. He said it had to do with Arroyo suddenly backtracking on the implementation of the Expanded Value-Added Tax (EVAT) law for political survival, after the Hello Garci controversy broke out. “Sa akin ho, the straw that broke the camel’s back, yung VAT ho, yung expanded VAT, tinulak sa amin na ipasa. Kailangan, dahil bababa ang credit rating natin, lalong sasama ang sitwasyon ng Pilipinas, et cetera, et cetera," Aquino said. “Nung pumutok ho yung Hello Garci, biglang ‘di na napaka-importante yung VAT. Nag-file na po yung opposition at that time ng challenge sa Supreme Court on its constitutionality, biglang hindi na importante, puro survival na lang ang importante. “So, naniwala kami na kailangan ito ng bansa, yung hindi mo isusulong, papasok na yung crisis sa pan-financial na sinasabi nila ay ganun pala, sacrifice yung bansa, basta siya, okay siya," Aquino continued. Curiously, the records show that opposition to the EVAT law then did not come from Arroyo but from Aquino's colleagues in the House, including his 2010 ally and now Senator Francis Ecudero. Arroyo signed the EVAT into law on May 24, 2005, two weeks before the existence of the Hello Garci tapes was announced to the media by Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye on June 6, 2005. One day before the EVAT was to take effect on July 1, 2005, opposition congressmen led by Rep. Escudero asked the Supreme Court for a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop the EVAT’s implementation, saying it was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court granted the petition, but after the Arroyo government defended the EVAT, the TRO was lifted on October 18, 2005 and the high court upheld the constitutionality of the law. “Luisita has always been used as leverage against us" In 2005, both Cory and Noynoy Aquino intimated that the Department of Agrarian Reform’s decision to revoke the stock distribution option (SDO) of Hacienda Luisita, Inc (HLI) was done in retaliation for the Aquinos’ withdrawal of support for Arroyo over the Hello Garci scandal. “To underscore the point that Cory Aquino should start behaving in a politically correct manner, the Hacienda Luisita [issue] was resurrected, a familiar refrain from the years of the Marcos dictatorship," the late Cory Aquino said in an October 1, 2005 report of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “Luisita has always been used as leverage against us," Tarlac Representative Noynoy Aquino said in a September 29, 2005 report of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. He said the Manila Regional Trial Court’s decision in 1985 (compelling the surrender of Hacienda Luisita for distribution to farmers in compliance with the terms of the government loans given to Jose Cojuangco, Sr in 1957) was issued around the same time his mother filed her certificate of candidacy to run for president against Ferdinand Marcos. “SDO did not improve lives of farmers" Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman has repeatedly denied since 2005 that the revocation of Luisita’s SDO was a retaliatory act. In a statement emailed to GMANews.TV on April 15, 2010, Pangandaman’s office reiterated that the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) had valid grounds for ordering the revocation of the SDO. “The PARC's (Presidential Agrarian Reform Council) decision to revoke the SDO was based solely on the investigation conducted by the Department of Agrarian Reform which looked into the petition filed by the HLI workers. The result of such investigation indicated that the SDO, after sixteen years of operation, has not improved the lives of the farmer beneficiaries," the statement said. The petition to revoke Luisita’s SDO was filed with the DAR on December 4, 2003, eighteen months before the Aquinos withdrew their support for Arroyo in July 2005. “Binaliktad lahat ng recommendation" During the Kandidato interview, Senator Noynoy Aquino contended that the DAR’s demeanor toward the Hacienda Luisita case changed after Pangandaman took over the department. Pangandaman officially took over the DAR on July 2005. His predecessor, Rene Villa, was part of the “Hyatt 10" group of cabinet secretaries that simultaneously left the Arroyo government over the Hello Garci controversy on July 8, 2005, the same day Cory Aquino publicly called for President Arroyo’s resignation for the first time. “Nung panahon ni Secretary Villa, nagpadala ng fact-finding committee, (which) basically said walang jurisdiction ang DAR dun sa mga issues na ni-raise," Aquino said. “Merong DOLE (Department of Labor) na issues, may SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) issues, pero hindi DAR. Now, nung pumasok si Pangandaman, using the same fact-finding team report—he never sent a new team, e—binaliktad niya lahat ng recommendation ni Secretary Villa. Nung hina-harass kami diyan noon, meron akong mga suspicions na parang the problem might have been magnified by the current administration. Might have been engineered also. But I can’t prove it at this point in time yet." DAR stands by decision to revoke SDO Pangandaman’s office, on the other hand, said: “The HLI farmer beneficiaries filed their petition for review of the SDO during the administration of Secretary Rene Villa long before the withdrawal of support of Cory Aquino for President Arroyo in 2005. Secretary Pangandaman merely assumed the responsibility left by his predecessor." According to the statement, “Secretary Nasser C. Pangandaman stands by the decision of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council, the highest policymaking body of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), to revoke the stock distribution option (SDO) of Hacienda Luisita, Inc and to order land distribution to farmer beneficiaries in 2005. The decision was made on the basis that the SDO has failed to improve the farm workers' lives within the sixteen years of its operation. Hacienda Luisita, Inc must withdraw their petition for certiorari in the Supreme Court so the land could be distributed by the DAR to the farmer beneficiaries." Noynoy promises to distribute land At the official kick-off of his presidential campaign in Concepcion, Tarlac on February 9, 2010, Senator Noynoy Aquino made headlines when he vowed that his family would ensure the distribution of Hacienda Luisita to farmer-beneficiaries by June 2014, the extended deadline for agricultural lands to be turned over to qualified beneficiaries under CARPER (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program with Extensions and Revisions). In a telephone interview with GMANews.TV’s Johanna Camille Sisante, spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Aquino would fulfill the promise whether he wins or loses in the elections. "Kinausap ko yung pamilya ko. Ang habol namin, yung kapakanan ng aming mga kasamahan po dun at ilipat yung mga asset sa kanila," said Aquino. Based on his understanding of HLI’s status, Aquino said the clan’s main concern was the debt-free transfer of Luisita’s assets to farmer-beneficiaries. But Atty. Jobert Pahilga, counsel of the Luisita workers who filed the petition to revoke the SDO, said HLI’s debts could not be used as a reason to withhold the land from the farm workers because the debts were incurred by HLI management. Pahilga added that Aquino should talk to his family to withdraw the petition for certiorari that they filed with the Supreme Court in 2006 so the hacienda’s land could be distributed. New York Times report raises doubts On March 15, 2010, a declaration attributed to Central Azucarera de Tarlac executive and Aquino's first cousin Fernando Cojuangco in the New York Times belied Aquino’s promise that Hacienda Luisita would be distributed to farm workers by 2014. The New York Times quoted Cojuangco as saying “No, we’re not going to" when asked about giving up the family plantation and the sugar business. Aquino suggested that his cousin Fernando might have been misquoted, but New York Times Philippine correspondent Carlos Conde said the Times was standing by its story and could release the recording of the interview if Cojuangco gave his consent. Two weeks after the New York Times report was published, HLI spokesman Atty. Antonio Ligon told GMANews.TV, “Sinabi ni Atty. Fernando Cojuangco that he was taken out of context. I leave it at that." If elected, Noynoy’s wishes to be followed, but . . . Prior to Aquino’s February 9, 2010 pronouncement that Hacienda Luisita’s land would be distributed to farm workers by 2014, HLI and Aquino asserted on a number of occasions that Luisita’s stock distribution agreement was a binding contract that could not be revoked. Ligon said whoever wins as president has the option of working with the legislature to update existing laws. “Kahit hindi pa si Noynoy 'yan o kahit iba pa yan, ‘pag ginawang ganito ang policy ng pamahalaan at nakipagtulungan ang bawat sangay, ang lehislatura ... ‘pag sinabi naman ng judiciary tama yan, walang dahilan para hindi magawa ang bagay na yun," he said. Ligon stressed that HLI would abide by any decision Aquino would make regarding Hacienda Luisita, should he be elected president. “Magagarantiyahan natin kung palarin si Senator Noynoy, irerespeto at susundin hindi lang ng pamilya kundi dapat ng buong bayan," Ligon said. “[Kahit] sinuman ang nahalal na pangulo, siya yung chief executive, tagapag-patupad ng batas." However, Ligon added, “But ang presumption natin, ang pangulo hindi gagawa ng pasya na magba-violate ng existing laws, like the Corporation Code, and approved contracts between parties." - Stephanie Dychiu, with additional reporting by Sandra Aguinaldo, Howie Severino, and Johanna Camille Sisante/YA, GMANews.TV

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Part 1: Hacienda Luisita's past haunts Noynoy's future The issues surrounding Hacienda Luisita are being seen as the first real test of character of presidential hopeful Noynoy Cojuangco Aquino, whose family has owned the land since 1958. Our research shows that the problem began when government lenders obliged the Cojuangcos to distribute the land to small farmers by 1967, a deadline that came and went. Part 2: Cory’s land reform legacy to test Noynoy’s political will There is a haunting resemblance between Senator Aquino’s “Hindi Ka Nag-Iisa" music video and a real-life torchlit march of Hacienda Luisita’s workers days before the November 16, 2004 massacre. What could be worth all the blood that has been spilled? Part 3: How a worker's strike became the Luisita massacre As Sen. Noynoy Aquino campaigns for the presidency, new attention has been focused on events of five years ago when labor strife on his family's sugar estate left seven dead. This is the third of a series that examines the tortured history of Hacienda Luisita, an issue that would face another Aquino administration. Part 4: After Luisita massacre, more killings linked to protest After the massacre of 2004, eight more people who were either leaders or supporters of the Luisita strike were murdered in Tarlac. A GMANews.TV investigation reveals that a survivor of one shooting testified in 2005 that Sen. Noynoy Aquino had appealed to him about a "superhighway", which turned out to be the now controversial SCTex.

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