The Coalition of Agricultural Workers International (CAWI) today condemned the latest incident of atrocities in the Hacienda Luisita sugarcane plantation in the Philippines. On Sunday, 22 December, police arrested eight farm workers who tried to stop the clearing operations of the Tarlac Development Corp. (TADECO), arguing that the area is already covered by government’s land reform program.
(Photo credit: UMA)
The international group also appealed to Philippine President Benigno Aquino III to order the immediate release of the arrested farm workers.
Philippine-based National Federation of Agricultural Workers Union (UMA), where many Hacienda Luisita farm workers belong to, reported the incident to the media. UMA is a member of CAWI.
Hacienda Luisita is a 6,435-hectare sugarcane plantation in Tarlac province, more than a hundred kilometers north of the capital Manila. The sprawling estate is owned by the powerful Cojuangco clan that includes incumbent President Benigno Aquino III. Hacienda Luisita has been controversial because of a longstanding land dispute between farm workers and the Cojuangcos, highlighted by the infamous massacre of seven protesting farm workers on 16 November 2004. It was followed by a series of assassination of other farm workers and their supporters in the succeeding months. On 24 April 2012, the Philippine Supreme Court (SC) ruled with finality that Hacienda Luisita should be distributed to farmer-beneficiaries under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) of the national government.
“We are alarmed by this incident because apparently, despite all that the farm workers have gone through to claim back their farm lands including clinching a legal victory in the highest court, they still could not peaceably live inside the Hacienda. They continue to be harassed and their human rights violated by powerful forces there. It is gravely disconcerting that the country’s armed forces are being used to intimidate the farm workers,” said P.P. Sivapragasam, CAWI Secretary General.
CAWI works to advance the rights, interests and welfare of agricultural workers. It groups together people’s movements, federations, alliances, associations, trade unions, non-government organizations (NGOs) and other support networks representing agricultural workers, peasants, plantation workers, small farmers, dalits, indigenous peoples and fisherfolks.
Sivapragasam added that President Aquino should immediately order the release of the farm workers lest he reinforces the public perception that the national government is tolerating the abusive behavior of the presidential relatives who are running the TADECO and the plantation.
“We appeal to the national government to respect and uphold the right to land of the farm workers. They have suffered long enough and these incidents only further aggravate the injustice that they endure. If President Aquino is serious about his stated commitment to social justice, then he should ensure that those responsible for the harassment of farm workers who are merely defending their right to land, including his own relatives and police officials, face the consequences of their action,” Sivapragasam said. ###