[32] Under the 2006 valuation of the distributed land, the compensation payment would have amounted to about P5 billion while under the 1989 valuation of the distributed land, the compensation would total only about P200 million.[33]. How many were killed in Mendiola massacre? This appears to be the finding based on accounts, testimonies and results of fact-finding missions gathered by Bulatlat. Photo by EFREN, The Hacienda Luisita Massacre: How It Happened, Get Bulatlats latest news and updates via email, Philippines news: 8 years after Luisita massacre, not one hectare distributed | Pinas news library, 8 years after Luisita massacre, not one hectare distributed - Bulatlat, Philsteel workers terminated for refusing CBA moratorium - Bulatlat. Apparently, the labor secretarys order also directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to dismantle the barricades put up by the strikers and break up the strike. Most of the news about Hacienda Luisita has been negative. This incident was later referred to as the Mendiola massacre, also called Black Thursday by some Filipino journalists. Bumabalik ang mga manggagawa kapag humuhupa na ang epekto ng tear gas (Workers would return to the picket line every time the effect of the tear gas weakens). On 7 May 1980, the government filed a case against TADECO before the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC). The Supreme Court ruling states that the 4,916 hectares of Hacienda Luisita is to be redistributed to 6,296 registered farm-worker beneficiaries, while the Hacienda Luisita Incorporated (HLI) will be receiving 40,000 pesos per hectare as compensation. It was cited that the SDO had failed to improve the lives of the more than 5,000 farmer beneficiaries. Right to Housing, food, livelihoods Despite repeated court decisions and repeated statements and commitments that the Hacienda Luisita lands would be redistributed to the farmers, farmers have been denied their rights to land reform. [34] But from the 4,916 hectares to be redistributed, 500 hectares were converted into non-agricultural use on 18 August 1996 by the Department of Agrarian Reform, while 80.5 hectares was also subtracted for the development of the Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX). What happened in the Hacienda Luisita massacre? Management refused. Luisita was named after Luisa, the wife of the top official of Tabacalera. The workers then found out that the hacienda was receiving multiple fines that were deducted from the workers wages, which sparked outrage. Hacienda Luisita main road, from Barangay San Miguel, Tarlac to Balite, Lourdes, Central and Mapalacsiao, Tarlac City. But they returned the shields after the police said they will be paying for them if they got lost, Tua said. The hacienda, which is owned by the family of former President Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino, is about 100 kms north of Manila. [7], In 1957, Jos Cojuangco took control of CAT and the hacienda through Manufacturers Trust Company, New York. [7][13] In acknowledgement of the fact that 93% of the hacienda's farm workers voted in favor of SDO in the 1989 referendum, included in the July 2011 decision was the further mandating of the DAR to hold another referendum to determine which among the hacienda's farm workers would wish to receive land or to remain as stockholders of HLI. [42] The ruling also states that 3% of the earlier stock transfers that were paid to the farmers will be deducted from the 1.3 billion to be received. In 2015, the mill was sold, with the Cojuangco and Aquino families owning minority shares. Luisita massacre: No justice after 10 years [Summary] => Tomorrow, Nov. 16, marks 10 years since the Hacienda Luisita Massacre happened at the controversial landed estate in Tarlac "owned" by the family of President Aquino. Who owns the Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac City? They were protesting against the mass retrenchment of farmworkers. BREAKING. It involved various influential individuals, government bodies, farmers, and unions. This powerful clan includes former presidents Corazon Aquino and her son, Benigno Aquino III. Two unions led the strike: the United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU, union of the plantation workers) and the Central Azucarera de Tarlac Labor Union (Catlu) of the milling workers. In response, farmers began to organize themselves in order to push for the distribution. On the payment of just compensation for the homelots to HLI, the Court, by unanimous vote, resolved to amend its July 5, 2011 Decision and November 22, 2011 Resolution by ordering the government, through the DAR, to pay to HLI the just compensation for the homelots thus distributed to the FWBS. The elections were fraught with anti-Marcos allegations and led to the People Power Revolution. 131654, Manila Regional Trial Court, Branch XLIII) sought the surrender of the hacienda to the Ministry of Agrarian Reform in order to properly distribute the land to the qualified farm workers. Apparently, the labor secretarys order also directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to dismantle the barricades put up by the strikers and break up the strike. The Philippine government aided the Cojuangcos in obtaining the loans needed to pay the price. Gusto si Ka Satur lang. In compliance with agrarian reform laws, the Supreme Court decisions further stated that HLI was entitled to payment by the government as just compensation for distributing the hacienda's lands to the farm workers. One of the victims was allegedly strangled after being shot and his dead body hanged in the factory's gate. Fourth of a series (Part 4 of this special report on Hacienda Luisita begins in December 2004, the month after the Luisita massacre. Full of deception, violence and landgrabbing is how the group called the process. Paragas said there were more than 200 canisters of tear gas thrown at the workers. In support of her, other wives lay themselves on the railroad tracks to stop the trains carrying sugar from being delivered. The Aquino-Cojuangco family has been the owner Hacienda Luisita under the company name Hacienda Luisita, Inc for decades. Paragas said he saw soldiers armed with long rifles position themselves on the open field at the right side of the sugar mill and at the left side of the gate. The most noteworthy example of a struggle between the peasant-class and the elite landlords occurred twelve years ago today, in what is now known as the Hacienda Luisita Massacre. [36] But it was on 30 September 2013, where DAR Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes started awarding the actual Certificate of Land Ownership (CLOA) to 600 Farmer-worker beneficiaries in Barangay Pando. Seven of the people participating in the rally were killed, an estimated number of 121 people, adults and children, were injured, and 133 people were arrested and detained.[27]. At the count of three, Tua said, the combined forces of the plantation and sugar mill workers pushed the entire police contingent. Two unions led the strike: the United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU, union of the plantation workers) and the Central Azucarera de Tarlac Labor Union (Catlu) of the milling workers. The estate's incorporators, who control 70 percent of Hacienda Luisita's stock shares, are Pedro Cojuangco, Josephine C. Reyes, Teresita C. Lopa, Jos Cojuangco Jr., and Mara Paz C. Teopaco, all siblings of the late former President Corazn C. Aquino who, on the day she became President of the Philippines, bequeathed her shares to her five (5) children and the Daughters of Charity and other non-profit organizations. Emil Paragas, Karapatan Tarlac coordinator, was at the picket line outside Gate 1 to observe the strike. During that year, future-president Benigno Aquino III was still a congressman in his home province of Tarlac. 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL) on 10 June 1988 signaled the beginning of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) under former President Corazon Aquino. To ease the tension, about 10 policewomen deployed themselves at the police front line. [22], The remaining 30% of the stock shares was given to farm workers under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program's Stock Distribution Option scheme. [1] Finally on 1958, Cojuangcos Tarlac Development Corporation (TADECO) became the new owner of Hacienda Luisita as well as CAT. He related the full account of the Nov. 16 massacre. At the time, the anti-Marcos block portrayed this lawsuit as an attack on the Aquino family by the Marcoses, while the farmers viewed it as the government taking action to help them. What happened Mendiola massacre? This decision was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1993. Who was the president when Hacienda Luisita massacre? Tulakan lang (just pushing and shoving). The results of the May 1989 referendum, as well as a second referendum held in October of the same year, found that a great majority of the Hacienda farm workers voted in favor of distribution of stock rather than land. This included the Hacienda Antonio (named after his eldest son), Hacienda San Fernando and Hacienda Isabel (named after his eldest daughter) in Cagayn and Isabela provinces, where the La Flor de Isabela cigar was cultivated. He, along with the other union leaders, went back to Tarlac in haste. While the upper class have reaped the rewards of steady economic growth in the past decade, which has also expanded the middle class the lowest rung of our society have languished in destitution. This decision to hold another referendum was met with considerable criticism however as critics asserted that agrarian reform laws stipulate that land distribution should be the only viable option and alternatives such as the SDO violate this.[30]. The November 2004 massacre or more popularly known as the Hacienda Luisita massacre is one of the most prominent instances of protest related deaths of Filipinos in recent years. Sto. This legal battle has spanned over several decades. Then, Paragas continued, thrice the APC rammed into the gate. Another dispersal took place at the crack of dawn the following day where at least 80 people including children and the elderly were hurt. Bulatlat.com. A case was filed against the police and military with regards to the injuries and deaths, however it was dismissed by the office of the Ombudsman in 2010. But in November 2004, when thousands of workers of the Hacienda Luisita sugar plantation went on strike they received bullets instead. It also is the countrys biggest source of sugar, and during the American colonial period it supplied 20% of the U.S. sugar import at its peak. The original Hacienda Luisita was a tobacco plantation, awarded in 1882 by the Spanish colonial government to the firm Tabacalera, founded by Antonio Lopez, who named it after his wife. Farm workers interviewed by Bulatlat said tension rose on Nov. 15 as the 6,000 strikers were reinforced by 9,000 residents from the haciendas 10 barangays (villages) at Gate 1. On 9 May 1989, a referendum was held among the farm workers of Hacienda Luisita to determine whether stocks or land would be the means by which the hacienda would be distributed. Gunshots also came from the gate, he said. So we walked out.). Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. 7 farm workers died, 40 farm workers were left wounded from the bullets and teargas and 112 were arrested from the rally. This case has been ongoing for many years, eliciting different opinions, and you can find some in the Hacienda Luisita reaction paper. Hacienda Luisita Massacre: A Tragedy Waiting to Happen. The lottery system had started on 18 July 2013 in Barangay Cutcut, Tarlac City with 340 farmers being given the first batch of Lot Allocation Certificates. Gunshots also came from the gate, he said. The Aquino-Cojuangco family has been the owner Hacienda Luisita under the company name Hacienda Luisita, Inc for decades. 6657 (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law) is signed into law by President Aquino. Behind them were agents of Nolcom. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. About 5,000 sugar farm workers and 500 sugar mill workers went on strike on Nov. 6 (Saturday) to demand, among others, the reinstatement of 327 workers led by union leaders earlier laid off by the Hacienda Luisita, Inc. (HLI) management. The same reports pointed to the fact that military and police forces, acting on orders of the labor department, appeared intent on breaking up the picket of the striking workers days before the Nov. 16 dispersal that claimed the lives of seven strikers and the wounding of at least 200 others. It was at this point, he said, that he feared something big was going to happen. President Magsaysay then offered Central Azucarera de Tarlac to Jos Cojuangco Sr. through Benigno Aquino Jr (Jos's son-in-law) in early 1957. A decade after the event, the aggrieved families filed a petition to reopen the case. Their fortunes are controlled by a wealthy elite who have held on to their dominant landholdings. The following year, the events which would spark the uprising among farm workers occurred which led to the massacre. Aquino promised a complete land distribution by 2014, however thousands of hectares have yet to be distributed not only in Luisita but in the rest of the country as well. With many citing that lands re-divided into other land holdings have been exempted from the court ruling. On 21 February 2018, Luisita Land Corporation has since filed a case against 15 farmers for the protest, for malicious mischief and trespassing of the RCBC owned land.[40]. The November 2004 massacre or more popularly known as the Hacienda Luisita massacre is one of the most prominent instances of protest related deaths of Filipinos in recent years. The continuation of the production both served the Japanese and the Spanish's interests at that time. At around 6 p.m. on Nov. 6, policemen used tear gas and water cannons to drive the strikers out of the CAT gate. Aquino then became Luisitas first administrator. The hacienda, which is owned by the family of former President Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino, is about 100 kms north of Manila. A number of strikers were hurt, among them Catlu president Ricardo Ramos who was hit on the head. It is a large piece of prime agricultural land that the Cojuangco family has used as a sugar cane field for many years for sugar production. The outcome of this endeavor is still in the air, but with an incumbent president who is staunchly against the Aquino family and who has extensive links to peasant-movements we might see this case make more inroads into achieving justice for the victims. The estate was originally under the control of the Spanish owned by the Tabacalera. In this year, Cory Aquino, who was the president, signed into law an Act with a clause called the Stock Distribution Option (SDO). Most of the original farmworkers reside in 10 villages - Barangays Balete, Cutcut, Lourdes, Mapalacsiao, Asturias, and Bantog in Tarlac City; Barangay Motrico in La Paz town; and Barangays Parang, Mabilog and Pando in Concepcion town. [7][13][14], Despite the installation of Corazon Aquino as President of the Philippines, the hacienda was not being distributed. Tabacalera acquired the land in 1882 from the Spanish crown, which had a self-appointed claim on the lands as the Philippines' colonial master. In accordance with the SDO agreement, there would be a 30-year schedule for distributing and transferring the stocks to the farmers. A chapter in human history where an oligarchic few controlled the lives of many. The Cojuangco group was given a ten-year window to distribute the lands to farmers as stipulated. The shooting killed seven union members and residents of Hacienda Luisita. But the strikers were ready, Flor Sibayan, who was among them, recalled. Katabi ko siya nang tamaan siya ng bala. On 25 January 1945, General Douglas Macarthur set up his headquarters at Hacienda Luisista to fight Japanese forces in the Philippines. [7][8] The government then authorized a P 5.9 million loan from GSIS which was approved in November 1957. The Massacre On the 6 th of November 2004, thousands of farm workers and sympathetic activists barricaded the gates of Hacienda Luisita - one of the major sugar plantations in the Philippines. Sensing they were outnumbered, the police were forced to negotiate with the strike leaders, Tua said. Tulakan lang (just pushing and shoving). Commentary on politics, news, and current events. He related the full account of the Nov. 16 massacre. Sto. Check your inbox to be the first to know the hottest news. Lumabas na kami. (They did not want to talk to us. Human barricades had formed outside Gate 1 to block trucks loaded with sugarcane from entering the sugar mill inside the hacienda. Another major dispersal was at work, Paragas recalled, this time with the police reinforced by soldiers from the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) based at Camp Aquino which is just across the highway overlooking the hacienda. 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