CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — Central Luzon farmer- leaders marked yesterday the infamous Mendiola Massacre 26 years ago by demanding from Pres. Aquino an apology, in behalf of his mother ex-Pres. Corazon Aquino who was then president when 13 farmers, mostly from Hacienda Luisita, were killed during the incident.
Fernando Hicap, the party list Anakpawis vice chairman, said the Mendiola Massacre would not have happened if the former President had pursued free land distribution in the best interest of landless farmers, including the controversial 6,450 hectare Hacienda Luisita and had restrained the trigger-happy military from firing their guns at protesting farmers mainly from Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog.
Anakpawis in a statement urged the President “to render an honest-to-goodness public apology to families of the victims and survivors of the Mendiola Massacre that took place 26 years ago at the historic Don Chino Roces bridge.”
“The President and his family representing the landed Cojuangco clan should admit that his mother— the late President Corazon Aquino made a major blunder for not stopping war freak troops of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine Constabulary from peppering protesting farmers with bullets on January 22, 1987,” Anakpawis said.
The statement also claimed that the President’s family “reneged on their 26-year-old promise to break land monopoly that would lead to distribution of agricultural lands for free to landless, land lacking and willing to till Filipinos.”
“The ghost of the Mendiola Massacre and the equally blasphemous Hacienda Luisita massacre will endlessly hound the Cojuangco-Aquino landed aristocracy unless they make up for their mistakes and do corrective measures in the name of those who offered their lives at the altar of thoroughgoing land reform and social justice,” said Hicap.
He added that after issuing a sincere public apology,” Mr. Aquino should declare the free land distribution of agrarian lands to landless peasants all over the country.”
“The best way to start this legitimate concern is the unconditional and urgent free distribution of Hacienda Luisita to more than 6,000 farmer beneficiaries,” Hicap furthered.
Hicap lamented that “”Mr. Aquino is already three years in office but his administration continues to play deaf and dumb on the legitimate demand of the farmers for land, justice and liberation.”
The statement recalled that in 2004, farmer groups came out with a proposal asking Congress to enact a law that would compensate the victims of Mendiola Massacre. This, however, was ignored by Congress.
Hicap recalled that on January 22, 1987, before more than 10,000 farmers could reach Malacañang Palace, the Marines and police shot and killed 13 peasants, wounded 105 and arrested 15 more.
