Hacienda Luisita Fact-Finding Mission Initial Report

8/22/2019 Hacienda Luisita Fact-Finding Mission Initial Report

1/9

1ANAKPAWIS | UMA | AMBALA | HACIENDA LUISITA NATL FACT-FINDING MISSION INITIAL REPORT | SEPTEMBER 2013

Initial Report of the Hacienda Luisita National Fact-Finding Mission

Spearheaded byAnakpawis Party-listandUnyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA)in cooperation with theAlyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (AMBALA)

September 16-17, 2013Barangays Cutcut (Sta. Catalina), Mapalacsiao and Balete, Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac City

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is tasked by the Supreme Court (SC) in the latters final andexecutory resolution in the Hacienda Luisita case dated April 24, 2012, to finish within one year thedistributionof 4,335 hectares of land to 6,296 qualified farmworker- beneficiaries (FWBs).

The SC decision revokes the Stock Distribution Option (SDO) implemented in the sugar estate in 1989, andclearly states that the DAR must also facilitate the distribution of land that would be found to beagricultural in use.

The ruling also compels the Hacienda Luisita, Inc. (HLI) to issue, for free, 18,804 shares of stocks to 4,026non-qualified FWBs who will remain as stockholders of HLI, and to give full account of the proceeds of thesale of 500 hectares to Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) and Luisita Industrial ParkCorporation (LIPCO) and 80 hectares used for Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX).

The Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (AMBALA), the local alliance of Luisitafarmworkers, has consistently lobbied for the DAR to acknowledge their demand for free land distributionand collective ownership, and to recognize their collective production initiative called bungkalan (tillage)which the farmworkers have established since 2005. AMBALA also asserts the farmworkers right toappoint an auditing firm of their choice that would audit the Php 1.33 billion farmworkers share of the saleof HLI assets.

More than a year after the SC ruling, farmworkers are still clamoring for genuine land reform and socialjustice.

From July 18 to August 19 this year, the DAR carried out the distribution of Lot Allocation Certificates(LAC) to listed FWBs in all of the 10 barangays of Hacienda Luisita through a rather unorthodox mode:tambiolo raffle. The DAR lottery, conducted with the heavy presence of armed military and policepersonnel, compelled most FWBs to sign a document called the Application to Purchase and FarmersUndertaking (APFU).

AMBALA exposed and criticized extensive irregularities and cases of intimidation and harassment in the

conduct of the DARs tambiolo land distribution. This prompted AMBALA, through its legal counsel, theSentro para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (SENTRA) to file an omnibus motion before the SupremeCourt on July 23, questioning the anomalous land distribution scheme being implemented by the DAR.

The National Fact-Finding Mission (NFFM) spearheaded by the office of Anakpawis Party-listrepresentative Hon. Fernando Hicap and the Unyon ng Manggagawa saAgrikultura (UMA), was intended tofurther verify reports of fraud, militarization and new cases of landgrabbing, before, during and after theDARs tambiolo land distribution in Hacienda Luisita.


2/9


The NFFM, held from September 16-17, was participated in by over 50 individuals from Manila and CentralLuzon representing SENTRA, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Pamalakaya, National Network ofAgrarian Reform Advocates-Youth, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), the national chapter of the human rightsgroup KARAPATAN,Tanggol Magsasaka, Promotion of Church Peoples Response (PCPR), Alyansa ng

mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon (AMGL), and local and alternative media groups. The NFFM waspreceded by a 3-day immersion program by student organizations of the De La Salle University College ofSt. Benilde from September 13-15. All activities were held within Barangays Cutcut (Sta. Catalina),Mapalacsiao and Balete in Tarlac City.

The NFFM was conducted with the prior knowledge of local government units. AMBALA and UMA sentformal correspondences seeking audience with Provincial Governor Victor Yap and Mayor GelacioManalang of Tarlac City, which were officially received by both offices. Letters were also furnished to the 3Barangays. In Barangay Cutcut, the NFFM delegates were entertained by local barangay officials.

On the first day, NFFM delegates dispersed into three teams to cover the said barangays and conductedgroup discussions and individual interviews with Luisita farmworker-beneficiaries and residents. The NFFM

delegates in Barangay Balete were joined by Anakpawis representative Hon. Fernando Hicap and his staffon the second day for an ocular inspection of disputed areas and to hold on-the-spot dialogues andinterviews with private security and/or military personnel reportedly deployed in Hacienda Luisita.

Here is the initial report of the Hacienda Luisita National Fact-Finding Mission (NFFM):

Anomalous Land Survey and Renewed Landgrabbing

The DAR is found to have committed various irregularities in its task to distribute land to Luisitafarmworkers. The DAR utilized over discretion and what may be considered as blatant mass deception,enough to subject a number of DAR officials and personnel for censure and investigation.

Hacienda Luisita is a 6,453-hectare sugar estate covering 10 barangays in the towns of La Paz, Concepcionand Tarlac City in the province of Tarlac. In 1989, 4,915 hectares were placed under SDO.

Following the 2012 SC ruling, the DAR hired the FF Cruz firm to survey Hacienda Luisita. SENTRAclaims that the FF Cruz merely copied the survey it conducted in 1989, which found only 4,099 hectares ofagricultural land for distribution to 6,212 qualified FWBs, with each FWB expected to receive a 6,600 sqm.farmlot.

According to SENTRA, FF Cruz based its survey on a total of 5,149 hectares in Hacienda Luisita and cameup with a total of 4,099 for distribution to farmworkers, as it supposedly excluded residential areas, canals,

roads, firebreaks, a cemetery, buffer zones, lagoons, fishponds, eroded areas, and legal easements. In 1989,these areas have already been excluded from the coverage of CARL through the SDO scheme. Today, theDAR survey shows a total deduction of more than 400 hectares for SCTEX access roads and other parcelsto be used supposedly as common areas for FWBs, making the total land area for distribution tofarmworkers much smaller.


3/9


SUMMARY OF HACIENDA LUISITA INC.

Updated summary as of July 12, 2013

LA PAZ TARLAC CONCEPCION TOTAL

Original Titles T-236740 T-236741 T-236742

Area covered byTitles of HLI 1,434.4829 1,783.7684 1,931.3068 5149.5581

Less (Deducted in 1989):Roads 10.0653 19.5641 6.1821 35.8115Canals 22.3791 26.1796 15.3719 63.9306Eroded 4.0702 21.4215 12.5685 38.0602Legal Easement 2.4815 2.4815Residential 6.3668 38.1366 11.6206 56.124TOTAL (TO BEDEDUCTED) 45.3629 105.3018 45.7431 196.4078

BALANCE 1,389.1200 1,678.4666 1,885.5637 4,953.1503

Less (Per Supreme Court Directive):

BCDA (SCTEX) 47.9313 5.9715 26.6087 80.5115Converted Areas 500.0000 500.0000TOTAL (TO BEDEDUCTED) 47.9313 505.9715 26.6087 580.5115

BALANCE 1,341.1887 1,172.4951 1,858.9550 4,372.6388

Less (Not Coverable):Cemetery 2.1063 2.1063SCTEX Access Roads 1.5936 7.0827 1.3424 10.0187TOTAL (TO BEDEDUCTED) 3.6999 7.0827 1.3424 12.1250

BALANCE 1,337.4888 1,165.4124 1,857.6126 4,360.5138

Add (Deducted back in 1989 but to be acquired as common areas of FWBs)Roads 10.0653 19.5641 6.1821 35.8115Canals 22.3791 26.1796 15.3719 63.9306Eroded 4.0702 21.4215 12.5685 38.0602Legal Easement 2.4815 2.4815TOTAL (TO BEADDED) 38.9961 67.1652 34.1225 140.2838TOTAL AREA TOBE ACQUIRED 1376.4849 1232.5776 1891.7351 4500.7976

Less (to be retained by RP [not distributed] as common areas of FWBs)Concrete Structure 0.0155 0.0155Add. Eroded 2.7425 2.7425

Creeks/Irrigation 0.9031 0.9813 4.5736 6.4580New roads 4.3400 2.1417 9.9466 16.4283Fishpond 14.1317 7.3715 32.5872 54.0904Lagoon 2.2315 2.2315Railroad (Central) 3.7194 3.7194Firebreaks 63.5341 39.0121 71.5298 174.0760Buffer zone 0.3768 0.2836 0.1719 0.8323Roads 10.0653 19.5641 6.1821 35.8115Canals 22.3791 26.1796 15.3719 63.9306


4/9


Eroded 4.0702 21.4215 12.5685 38.0602Legal Easement 2.4815 2.4815TOTAL (TO BEDEDUCTED) 122.2818 125.6643 152.9316 400.8777TOTAL NETDISTRIBUTABLEAREA

1254.2031 1106.9133 1738.8035 4099.9199

/6212=.6600/FWB

Source: DAR

AMBALA has repeatedly requested the DAR to furnish them a copy of the new Luisita survey conductedby FF Cruz, but the DAR has been ignoring the groups plea. AMBALA, through its July 23 motion, haseven urged the SC to appoint a geodetic engineer, or an independent survey to validate the surveyconducted by the DAR. Up to this moment, AMBALA has yet to receive a copy of the new DAR survey.

This has become more urgent after the NFFM confirmed that tracts of land mysteriously disappeared

from the DARs land distribution map as observed by farmworkers during the tambiolo raffles inBarangays Cutcut, Balete and Mapalacsiao. Farmworkers reported glaring discrepancies between the DARsallocated areas for FWBs and the actual agricultural land available for distribution. The NFFM confirmedthat several tracts of land were deliberately excluded from the DAR survey and were not considered by theDAR for distribution despite their agricultural nature.

In Mapalacsiao, only 144 lots or 95.04 hectares of land were allocated by the DAR for distribution to 815beneficiaries. This means that majority, or 617 out of 815 FWBs from Mapalacsiao will not get farmlotswithin, or near their places of residence. Before the DAR lottery, Jose Peping Cojuangco himselfreportedly made a visit to Barangay Mapalacsiao to survey lands owned by their familys company, theTarlac Development Corporation (TADECO). Cojuangco reportedly told residents that he was planning tobuild a sports complex in TADECOs lands in Mapalacsiao.

In Barangay Cutcut, residents questioned the exclusion of around 100 hectares of agricultural land from theDAR survey, notably the farmlots which are now part of the thriving bungkalan projects of AMBALA.Near these farmlots, TADECO has built security outposts manned by armed private guards. The NFFMmonitored that the TADECO has issued written notices to at least 30 farmworkers, stating that thesefarmworkers have encroached lands owned by TADECO and should therefore vacate the lots within 15days upon receipt of notice or face legal action. A total of 89 farmworkers are estimated to receive the samenotice from TADECO. A total of 645 farmworker-beneficiaries live in Barangay Cutcut.

In Barangay Balete, a total land area of 287 hectares is supposed to be up for distribution to 700 FWBs.However, Agrarian Reform Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Anthony Parungao, said in a media interview

that only 117 lots or 77.22 hectares are available for distribution in Barangay Balete. This means thatmajority, or 583 out of 700 Balete FWBs will not get farmlots within, or near their places of residence.

DAR insists that a large portion of the 500 hectares excluded from distribution due to land conversion issituated in Barangay Balete. However, Hacienda Luisita Inc. corporate secretary Emmanuel Cochico, in aletter to the DAR dated April 25, 2002, mentioned that these 500 hectares are situated not in BarangayBalete but in the sitios of San Miguel, Luisita and Bantug and in Barangay Ungot, Tarlac City.


5/9


TADECO claims ownership of around 100 hectares of agricultural land within Barangay Balete, and has setup 6 security outposts around the area, manned by at least two armed private guards each. The NFFMfound these areas to be part of AMBALAs bungkalan pilot areas which are now grown to palay,vegetables and fruit trees. At least 7 farmworkers from Barangay Balete received the same written notice asthose issued to Cutcut residents. One of the recipients of the threatening TADECO notice died on the first

day of the NFFM on September 16, even before delegates can get his story.

The NFFMs ocular survey of the supposed converted areas in Barangay Balete found that these vasttracts of land remain agricultural in nature. Even the contested RCBC propertywhich NFFM membershave noticed to be not only plastered with signs proclaiming that it is not part of Hacienda Luisita but alsoconcealed and fortified by several layers of concrete wall and fence to elude scrutinyhas up to this dayfailed to undergo any kind of land use development even as the DAR approved its supposed conversionway back in 1996.

The areas in question are definitely agricultural lands that should be included for distribution to farmworkersas ruled by the Supreme Court.TADECO as stated in the Supreme Court decision has no longer any legalclaims to lands covered by Hacienda Luisita:

thestock distribution scheme appeared to be TADECOs preferred option in complying with theCARP when it organized HLI as its spin-off corporation in order to facilitate stock acquisition bythe FWBs. For this purpose, TADECO assigned and conveyed to HLI the agricultural landsof Hacienda Luisita, set at 4,915.75 hectares, among others. These agricultural landsconstituted as the capital contribution of the FWBs in HLI. In effect, TADECO depriveditself of the ownership over these lands when it transferred the same to HLI.

By withholding the survey from AMBALA and by consistently and openly defending the TADECOs claimsto these agricultural lands in its recent media pronouncements, the DAR is in effect being complicit to anyattempts by any party to go against the Supreme Court decision. DAR is practically aiding the Cojuangco-

Aquino clan in the latters aggressive bid to retain ownership of choice prime lots, particularly in BarangaysBalete, Cutcut and Mapalacsiao.

Fraudulent Tambiolo Land Allocation Held at Gunpoint

In all three barangays covered by the NFFM, residents reported the presence of DAR personnel monthsbefore the scheduled tambiolo raffles. These people were welcomed by barangay officials and held house-to-house information campaigns regarding the DARs land distribution scheme.

These employees explained to farmworkers that the DAR land distribution scheme is good and will befor the benefit of all, as theywarned that only those who will sign the APFU will be given land. DAR

officials, even in their press releases always stress that the APFU is a mandatory requirement for thegeneration and registration of the beneficiarys Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA). According toa DAR press statement:

the signing of the APFU manifests the willingness of the farmer-beneficiaries to abide by his/herobligation under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program which is to (a) cultivate the farmlots awarded to them, (b) pay the amortization based on the lands assessed value as well as the realestate taxes, and (c) desist from committing prohibited acts.


6/9


AMBALA criticizes the DAR for compelling farmworkers to sign a document which states that they arewilling to buy the land which is essentially theirs and at a price which is not expressedly stated in thedocument and can be easily manipulated to favor the Cojuangco-Aquino clan. SENTRA maintains that thethreat of the DAR to disqualify the FWBs who fail or refuse to sign the AFPU has no basis in fact and in

law.

Farmworkers in the three barangays related instances of deception and disinformation perpetrated by DARpersonnel and persons believed to be under the payroll of the Cojuangco-Aquino clan, months before theDARs lottery activities.

In all three barangays, farmworkers were made to believe that signing the APFU is a pre-requisite for thebeneficiary to avail of the Cojuangcos supposed offer to buy their farmlots at Php 1 million per hectare. InBarangay Cutcut, many FWBs attended the raffle proceedings with the belief that they will be instantlyawarded the promised cash during the DAR lottery.

In Mapalacsiao, financier-agents of the Cojuangco-Aquino clan urged farmworkers to sign the APFU to

serve as a sort of collateral before cash-strapped farmworkers can avail of illicit loans and leaseholdagreements. AMBALA sees this as a ploy to further cement the disqualification of beneficiaries who underland reform laws are obliged to make their farmlots productive and are prohibited to sell or lease theseawarded farmlots.

The tambiolo system itself is a very crude way of allocating land. It evades the correct process ofconsulting with the FWBs and studying the long history of exploitation within Luisita so as to exact socialjustice. Land allocation must consider the fact that farmworkers have already positioned themselves in plotsthat are naturally near their places of abode. By resorting to the random means of raffle, land allocation isconceded to chance and unavoidably causes displacements and sows confusion and dispute among thefarmworkers themselves.

In Barangay Balete, FWBs were designated lots in as far away as Barangays Pando and Mabilog inConcepcion town. To be able to tend to their supposed farmlots in these barangays, a Balete resident musttravel about 20 kilometers back and forth and must spend as much as Php200 a day for transportation.

In Barangay Mapalacsiao, a beneficiary awarded a farmlot in Barangay Motrico in La Paz town sought tosurvey the land allocated by DAR, only to be told by the Barangay Captain that her name and lot numberwas nowhere in the official DAR survey of Barangay Motrico.

The NFFM further discovered that the tambiolo system was not random at all, but a pre-programmed scheme of imposing land allocation. Each paper that was raffled not only contained the

name of the FWB but alsoa corresponding lot allocation that has already been pre-determined. Farmworker-beneficiaries were never asked to pick random lot allocations from the tambiolo. During these raffles,farmworkers were practically made to witness how the DAR and the intimidating presence of hundreds offully-armed police and military personnel orchestrated frightening mockery out of their decades-old toil.

First-hand accounts from farmworkers and pictures lifted from the DARs Facebook page attest to themassive PNP and AFP deployment during DAR lotteries in different barangays.


7/9


During the first lottery in Barangay Cutcut in July 18, the DAR mobilized around 200 armed policepersonnel including a SWAT team and a fire truck.

In Barangay Balete, the NFFM confirmed reports that barangay officials were ordered by the DAR to doleout P300 to each absent FWB to lure them to join the lottery. Despite the heavy presence of PNP and AFP

troopers, more than a hundred farmworkers held a bold protest action during the DARs lottery. After localand alternative media groups and observers left, however, the military conducted warrantless raids in severalhouses to harass farmworkers opposing the lottery scheme.

In the final lottery held in Barangay Mapalacsiao, about a hundred PNP personnel were deployed a daybefore the August 19 DAR acitivity. Residents estimate the total number of armed men deployed to reacharound 500, including armed intelligence agents in civilian clothes. Around 40 soldiers, believed by residentsto be snipers, were positioned atop the barangay hall roofdeck. Farmworkers complained about the way theDAR holed them up inside the covered court, with policemen locking and heavily guarding all alternativeexits. Police and military personnel were deployed at every street corner, apparently anticipating and aimingto preempt any form of protest from the farmworkers.

A farmworker in Mapalacsiao narrates:

Ako po inilagay sa Motrico, pina-sign po nila ako doon. Pero nandyan na ang papel, pero hindi kopa tiningnan. Pinataas ang kamay ko (paramanumpa), tapos ibinababa ko (ang kamay ko). Nagsabiako, e ako pang magbabayad, yung mga ninuno namin, sila na ang nagbungkal tapos kami pa angmagbabayad! E, wag kanang magrekamo, sabing pulis. Ikawnaligo ka pa, pumunta ka dito. Basa paang buhok mo. E ano, kung naligo ako, amuyin mo pa shampoo yan, hindi yan langis. Bakittinatanong mo pa ang paliligo ko, kako? Naka-ganyan (nakasumpa ang kamay) na kasi ako, e. E bakitako manunumpa, lupa naming ito. Ay hindi, itaas mo yan (kamaymo), sabing pulis. Opo, naka signpo ako kasi ninerbyos ako kasi may mga baril po sila. Natakot po ako.

The NFFM confirmed reports that this flawed and fraudulent tambiolo land allocation was practicallyheld at gunpoint to ensure participation of defiant Luisita farmworkers.

Reign of Terror and Militarization

There is undoubtedly a reign of terror within Hacienda Luisita, as demonstrated by the intimidatingpresence of hundreds of police and military personnel before, during and after the DARs lottery activities.The TADECOs armed security guards also serve to intimidate legitimate land reform beneficiaries in thevery farmlots they have made productive after years of struggle.

The 31st Infantry Battalion (Mechanized) of the Philippine Army maintains a detachment in an area called

Aqua in Barangay Cutcut. A unit of the paramilitary CAFGU also maintains a detachment near thewelcome arc entrance of this same barangay.

In Barangay Balete, the NFFM delegates led by Rep. Fernando Hicap were able to seek a surprise dialoguewith military personnel stationed near the farm lots of AMBALA leaders Rene Galang and Florida PongSibayan. The NFFM confirmed that the military has cleared around half a hectare of land for theconstruction of a military detachment. The officer-in-charge of the troops refused to identify himself and


8/9


his unit, even after Rep. Hicap introduced himself as a legislator, and the delegation as part of a legitimatefact-finding mission to look into the land distribution issues in Hacienda Luisita.

The officer, however, told the NFFM that the area for the detachment was offered to the military by theLuisita Realty Corporation or LRC, another Cojuangco-owned firm. The officer claimed that they were to

vacate their former post in Aqua because the area was now up for land distribution to farmworkers.

An ocular survey of the area surrounding the planned military detachment reveals that the land in questionis agricultural in nature and is in fact right beside healthy crops tended by AMBALA leaders. That the DARhas exempted this area from land distribution and has allowed the Cojuangco-Aquino clan to utilize armedgovernment units to guard these areas from legitimate beneficiaries is alarming.

After the dialogue with military officers, the NFFM delegates themselves experienced first-hand the reign ofterror wrought by the Cojuangco-Aquino clan in Hacienda Luisita.

Without any provocation, around 7-10 armed men in civilian clothes and more than 20 members of theTarlac City PNP headed by OIC Chief Bayani Razalan, violently and arbitrarily arrested members of the

NFFM, not sparing Rep. Fernando Hicap who promptly identified himself as a government official. Thepolice nabbed and manhandled delegates of the NFFM which included elderly farmworkers and womenfrom Barangay Balete. Of the eleven arrested, six were women Sister Patricia Fox of Tanggol Magsasaka,Anakpawis staff Karl Mae San Juan and Kerima Acosta, and Balete residents Florida Pong Sibayan, LuzVersola and Angelina Nunag. Also arrested were Rep. Hicaps aide Rene Blasan, Anakpawis staff and AsianPeasant Coalition Secretary-General Danilo Ramos, KARAPATAN paralegal Ronald Gustilo, and culturalworker Ericson Acosta.

Nine of the eleven arrested NFFM delegates were charged with malicious mischief and direct assault. TheTarlac City PNP admitted that the arrests were conducted based on complaints by the Cojuangco-ownedTADECO.

The harassment and trumped-up charges against supporters of Hacienda Luisita farmworkers come in thelight of a spate of illegal arrests of local Luisita leaders and farmworkers. In February 28 this year, the PNPdevised the illegal arrest and detention of three AMBALA members staging a picket in Tarlac City insupport of their leaders in a dialogue with local DAR officials. Days before the NFFM, police arrested afarmworker in Barangay Bantog for an alleged crime he committed when he was only 16 years old.

According to the KARAPATAN fact sheet, on the February 28 incident:

On February 28, 2013, more than eighty (80) farm beneficiaries and members of AMBALAstaged a picket-rally in front of La Maja Rica Hotel and Restaurant, Tarlac City, in support of

their leaders who were in a 2:00 p.m. meeting in the Conference Room of La Maja Rica, calledby Engr. Emmanuel G. Aguinaldo, PARO II of DAR Region III.

When the meeting ended at around 4:00 p.m. and the farmer-leaders were going out to join theirmembers, the policemen (some in full battle gear and some in uniform) who were monitoringthe rally started to arrest some among the rallyists. Those illegally arrested were Wilson Duqueand Renato Mendoza of Barangay Cutcut and Jay Parazo of Barangay Balete who wereimmediately brought and detained at Camp Macabulos, Tarlac City.


9/9


The NFFM, through a KARAPATAN paralegal gathered the following data on the arrest of farmworkers inBarangay Bantog days before the NFFM:

Noong 10 Setyembre 2013, bandang alas-5 ng hapon, tatlong lalaki nanaka-suot pang-sibilyan ang

pumunta sa bahayni Rico Tabago. Nagpakilalang pulis ang mga lalaki, subalit hindi nagbigay ngkanilang mga pangalan. Pinapapunta ng mga pulissi Rico sa presinto, at ipinakita ang isang Warrantof Arrest para sa Criminal Case #8456 - Arson/Violation of PD 1613 na inisyu ni Judge CesarAgonon (Branch 63, Tarlac City RTC) noong 5 Agosto 2013. Nakapangalan rin sa Warrant sinaMario Caguioa (deceased), Elmer Cruz, ValienteAlmera at Crisanto Balot, mga residente ng Bgy.Asturias.

Kinabukasan, 11 Setyembre 2013, dumating sa presinto sina Elmer Cruz at ValienteAlmera, sapag-aakala na may hearing ang kaso laban sa kanila. Agad din silang kinulong. Noong araw rin naito aynakalaya sila sa pamamagitan ng pag-piyansang tig-5,000 piso bawat isa. Ang habla laban sa kanila aypara sa kasong panununog diumano ng tubo noong 1994. Ayon kay Rico, noong 1994, siya ay 16anyos pa lang.

After the arrest of 11 NFFM delegates, more cases of harassment and intimidation were reportedlyperpetrated by the TADECO security guards and intelligence agents in civilian clothes around BarangayBalete.

Conclusion: Land to the Toilers Now!

While there is still a considerable amount of data collected by the NFFM that has yet to be synthesized, thisinitial report represents in a very significant way the unanimous assessment of all the NFFM delegates.There is more than enough evidence and urgent consideration, pending publication of a comprehensivedocument, for the NFFM to declare that land distribution in Hacienda Luisita has so far been a big failure.

The DAR must be compelled to present an explanation for its blatant overdiscretion. It must beinvestigated for the motives that have led it to practically sabotage the SC decision.

State armed units that are currently deployed in the area must be withdrawn. The farmworkers are supposedto be the beneficiaries here and are not the dangerous enemies of the state that the ubiquitous presence andcontinued activities of the police and the military essentially and powerfully imply.

TADECO, LRC and other parties especially those with links with the Cojuangco-Aquino clan should refrainfrom any effort to physically claim any portion of the agricultural lands in Hacienda Luisita.

President Noynoy Aquino should immediately call the attention of his family members regarding thismatter, lest it be made clear and undeniable that he himself is not at all keen on giving up his landlordinterest in this vast and already much-disputed estateTHIS land that the law, history and social justicemandate SHOULD belong to its toilers.

Documents

Hacienda Luisita Fact-Finding Mission Initial Report