At odds: Farmers’ reps muddle Luisita deal

Will the real Hacienda Luisita farmers please stand up? Hours after the signing of the compromise agreement between farm workers and the owners of Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) Friday morning, a lawyer for one of the farmers’ groups vowed to challenge the deal before the Supreme Court. “We will file before the court a motion to declare this agreement null and void. We will also ask SC to continue with the scheduled oral argument. Dapat sundin ang proseso ng batas," said lawyer Jobert Ilarde Pahilga, counsel for the farmers’ group AMBALA. Once the document is submitted to the high court, Pahilga said he plans to sue Noel Mallari, who signed the agreement as vice president of AMBALA, for “misrepresentation" as the latter had allegedly left the group. “This makes the agreement invalid since the signatory has no capacity to represent the farm workers," he told GMANews.TV in an interview Friday afternoon. But Mallari dismissed the lawyer’s statement as “black propaganda" and countered that Pahilga is no longer AMBALA’s counsel. “Kahit mag-inquire pa sila sa Supreme Court, ako ang legal personality. Lahat ng sulat ng SC, ako ang pinapadalhan." Mallari said. He acknowledged that AMBALA and other farmers’ groups have split into several factions through the long history of the land struggle in Luisita. “Nagkahiwa-hiwalay kami. Nagkaroon ng biyakan sa grupo pero sana tapusin na. Huwag tayong puro reklamo. Solusyonan na natin ito," he said. As the group’s vice president, Mallari said he has represented AMBALA before the Supreme Court ever since their president, Rene Galang, stopped performing his duties in 2005. “Kami talaga ang nagre-representa sa mga tao. Maglabas sila ng dokumento na sila ang kinikilalala ng korte. Diyan na makikita talaga ang lehitimong representate ng tao," Mallari said. Pahilga said Galang left for Australia because of “harassment," but did not provide further details. The lawyer maintained that Luisita’s farmer-beneficiaries are entitled to the entire 6,453-hectare plantation and not just a parcel of the estate. He dismissed the agreement as a “deceptive and diversionary tactic" by the plantation’s owners to “preempt the decision of the Supreme Court," which has scheduled oral arguments on the case on August 18. ULWU split Galang’s departure had likewise caused a rift within ULWU, which he had also chaired in the past. Two leaders have been contesting the position that he left ever since. “Bilang bise, ako na ang namuno noong nawala siya," said ULWU vice president Eldifonso Pungol, who signed Friday’s accord on behalf of the farm workers. But his action was questioned by Lito Bais, who said he had been appointed as “acting president" of ULWU by Galang. “Hindi ito makatuwiran. Ito ay iligal na pagpupulong nila," Bais said in an interview with GMA News’ 24 Oras. Pungol said he signed the agreement after consultations with other union members. “Gusto lang po naming magkaroon ulit ng kabuhayan. Pinakinggan lang po namin ang kagustuhan ng karamihan," he said. However, Bais accused the officials who represented the union in the agreement of “conniving" with the plantation owners. “Pinakikita nila na itong pamilyang Cojuangco, ayaw talagang pakawalan ang lupain," he said. – ANDREO C. CALONZO/YA, GMANews.TV Read main story here: Hacienda Luisita farmers, owners end 21-year land row