LUISITA DEAL IS A LIE AND A DIVERSIONARY
TACTIC BY LUISITA MANAGEMENT
(THE “DEAL” WAS REJECTED BY THE FARMERS TWO YEARS AGO)
TACTIC BY LUISITA MANAGEMENT
(THE “DEAL” WAS REJECTED BY THE FARMERS TWO YEARS AGO)
For Immediate Release
Reference: Atty. Jobert Ilarde Pahilga
0928-7021549
The counsel for the farm workers of Hacienda Luisita under their organization Alyansa ng mga Manggawang Bukid sa Hacienda Luisita (AMBALA), that petitioned the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to revoke the stock distribution option (SDO in the said agricultural land denied the existence of a deal between the management of Hacienda Luisita Incorporated (HLI) and the farm workers. AMBALA is composed of the more than 6,000 farm workers who sought the revocation of the SDO in Hacienda Luisita.
Atty. Jobert Ilarde Pahilga, Executive Trustee of Sentro Para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (SENTRA), the counsel of record for AMBALA in the case now pending at the Supreme Court said that he is not aware of any negotiation between AMBALA and HLI management to settle the contentious issue surrounding the Hacienda Luisita case.
“We have to be sure whether those involved in the negotiations were really representatives of the farmers and are negotiating for the benefit of the farm workers. And we should also know what are the terms and conditions of the deal. There is also the issue of justice to the victims of the Hacienda Luisita massacre and of the extrajudicial killings that happened thereafter that should be considered” according to Atty. Pahilga.
“In July of this year, there were efforts to broker a deal between the HLI management and the farm workers and to submit a compromise agreement for judgment to the Supreme Court, where the case is now pending. There was already a meeting by the farm workers and the religious sector who would mediate and arrange a meeting with President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III for the settlement of the case. But the terms and conditions of the compromise agreement is yet to be agreed upon. Thus, we were surprised that news broke out that that was already such a deal”, according to Pahilga.
“If the reports are true regarding the terms and conditions of the settlement, then the same was already rejected by the farm workers two years ago as they are unjust and unacceptable to the farmers. It is the stand of the farmers that no less the entirety of the land should be awarded to them. Thus, resurrecting the “settlement” with the same terms and conditions already rebuffed by the farm workers at this point of time, when the Supreme Court has already ordered an oral argument on the case, is a diversion, a deceptive act of HLI management, intended to veer away from the real issue of whether the SDO in Luisita improved the lives of the farmers”, said Pahilga.
Pahilga noted that even while the case is pending at the Supreme Court, HLI management tried to muddle the issue by submitting to the court lists and signatures of persons who supposedly wanted to continue with the SDO in the hacienda. But per verification by AMBALA and ULWU, some of the person who signed the document are already dead and some are not farmer beneficiaries of Hacienda Luisita. Some are not even residents of the barangays in the hacienda. And yet again, with the supposed “deal”, HLI management is trying to deceive the Supreme Court.
“Maybe, these deceased persons and those who are not beneficiaries are the same persons with whom HLI management negotiated with”, added Pahilga.
“It is equally important to know who are the parties to the negotiation for there is a high probability that the persons privy to the deal are not the real representatives of farm workers but mere dummies of HLI”, Pahilga said.
That is why it is important for the Supreme Court to continue with the oral argument so that issues such as who are the real beneficiaries of the hacienda and whether the stock distribution option is constitutional and beneficial to the farm workers are definitely resolved by the Supreme Court, according to Pahilga.
The case at the Supreme Court was filed by HLI to annul the order of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) to revoke the SDO in Hacienda Luisita and to distribute the land to the farm workers.
Atty. Jobert Ilarde Pahilga, Executive Trustee of Sentro Para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (SENTRA), the counsel of record for AMBALA in the case now pending at the Supreme Court said that he is not aware of any negotiation between AMBALA and HLI management to settle the contentious issue surrounding the Hacienda Luisita case.
“We have to be sure whether those involved in the negotiations were really representatives of the farmers and are negotiating for the benefit of the farm workers. And we should also know what are the terms and conditions of the deal. There is also the issue of justice to the victims of the Hacienda Luisita massacre and of the extrajudicial killings that happened thereafter that should be considered” according to Atty. Pahilga.
“In July of this year, there were efforts to broker a deal between the HLI management and the farm workers and to submit a compromise agreement for judgment to the Supreme Court, where the case is now pending. There was already a meeting by the farm workers and the religious sector who would mediate and arrange a meeting with President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III for the settlement of the case. But the terms and conditions of the compromise agreement is yet to be agreed upon. Thus, we were surprised that news broke out that that was already such a deal”, according to Pahilga.
“If the reports are true regarding the terms and conditions of the settlement, then the same was already rejected by the farm workers two years ago as they are unjust and unacceptable to the farmers. It is the stand of the farmers that no less the entirety of the land should be awarded to them. Thus, resurrecting the “settlement” with the same terms and conditions already rebuffed by the farm workers at this point of time, when the Supreme Court has already ordered an oral argument on the case, is a diversion, a deceptive act of HLI management, intended to veer away from the real issue of whether the SDO in Luisita improved the lives of the farmers”, said Pahilga.
Pahilga noted that even while the case is pending at the Supreme Court, HLI management tried to muddle the issue by submitting to the court lists and signatures of persons who supposedly wanted to continue with the SDO in the hacienda. But per verification by AMBALA and ULWU, some of the person who signed the document are already dead and some are not farmer beneficiaries of Hacienda Luisita. Some are not even residents of the barangays in the hacienda. And yet again, with the supposed “deal”, HLI management is trying to deceive the Supreme Court.
“Maybe, these deceased persons and those who are not beneficiaries are the same persons with whom HLI management negotiated with”, added Pahilga.
“It is equally important to know who are the parties to the negotiation for there is a high probability that the persons privy to the deal are not the real representatives of farm workers but mere dummies of HLI”, Pahilga said.
That is why it is important for the Supreme Court to continue with the oral argument so that issues such as who are the real beneficiaries of the hacienda and whether the stock distribution option is constitutional and beneficial to the farm workers are definitely resolved by the Supreme Court, according to Pahilga.
The case at the Supreme Court was filed by HLI to annul the order of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) to revoke the SDO in Hacienda Luisita and to distribute the land to the farm workers.
