DOJ asked to probe 'militarization' in Hacienda Luisita

For the farmers of the Cojuangco-owned Hacienda Luisita, it was as if martial law was never lifted. On the day marking the 39th year after then President Ferdinand Marcos placed the Philippines under martial rule, Hacienda Luisita farmers decried the supposed harassment and intimidation from military and paramilitary units deployed to the sprawling sugar estate in Tarlac. Picketing in front of the Department of Justice in Manila, farm workers from the Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid ng Asyenda Luisita (Ambala), Unyon ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Agrikultura (UMA), and United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU) asked Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to help them to put an end to the supposed "militarization" in the estate. As of this posting, GMA News Online was still trying to reach Hacienda Luisita Inc. spokesperson Antonio Ligon for comment. Martial law? "Sabi ko nga, ramdam namin ang martial law. Kaming mga lider ay hindi maka-kilos nang maayos. Parati kaming may kabuntot (I was always saying we can still feel martial law here. We, the leaders, cannot move with ease. We are always being followed)," said ULWU president Lito Bais. He recounted that security guards deployed to the area change to military uniforms at night and dismantle the fences mounted by the farmers. Felix Nakpil Jr. of Ambala also said that last September 8, two men dressed in military uniforms supposedly raided his home. "Buti naka-takas ako agad (It's a good thing I was able to leave right away)," said Nakpil. In a separate position paper, UMA demanded the pull-out of all miltiary units deployed to Hacienda Luisita and the creation of an investigating body to verify the complaints of farmers against the military. "Their mere presence are causing fear and intimidation not only among the ranks of the farm workers but also in the populace of Hacienda Luisita affecting their daily economic activities in the farm fields. Even the basic democratic rights of the farm workers to freely organize themselves are [constantly watched] by civiliad-clad army personnel," said the group. Land dispute at the SC HLI and over 6,000 farm-worker beneficiaries are still tangled in a land dispute that remains pending before the Supreme Court. Last July 5, 10 SC magistrates voted to uphold the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council's (PARC) resolution to revoke the stock distribution plan (SDP) of the HLI. The stock distribution plan allowed for the stock distribution option (SDO) agreement that was forged between HLI and farmer beneficiaries in 1989. Under the deal, farmers can choose whether they want to receive land or shares of stock from the corporation. But of the 10 justices, six voted to order the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to administer a new voting where 6,296 qualified farmer beneficiaries can opt to remain as HLI shareholders or receive land. In their appeal, however, the DAR and the PARC asked the Supreme Court to order the land distribution instead of the holding of another voting between stocks and land. — RSJ, GMA News