The Alyansang Manggagawang Bukid ng Asyenda Luisita (Ambala) reported that policemen on board a patrol car arrived the other day in Barangay Balete “to prevent land preparation activities of farmers for main crop planting season.”
The cops were reportedly tasked to prevent farmers from access to hacienda lands claimed by the Cojuangco-controlled Tarlac Development Corp. (Tadeco) as being exempted from land reform, Ambala said.
Ambala said the harassment of farmers started after Mariano was nominated to the post of secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).
The group cited the case of farmer Charlito Catalan whose house in Barangay Mapalacsiao was demolished by persons identified with Tadeco last May 30.
“We condemn this latest atrocity by the Cojuangco-Aquino family against the poor farmers of Hacienda Luisita. We vow support to farmers led by Ambala to take back the lands grabbed by the Cojuangco-controlled firm Tadeco,”
Anakpawis Rep. Fernando Hicap said in a statement.
The present government and Tadeco “seem to be working together to reduce the amount of hacienda lands subject to land reform, said Ambala. In 2012, the Supreme Court ordered the distribution of Hacienda Luisita lands to farm workers after it earlier declared illegal the stock distribution option already implemented in the hacienda during the term of former president Corazon Aquino.
The DAR implemented the order of the High Court through the controversial “tambiolo” raffle.
But Ambala noted that from an original land area of 6,453 hectares, the Cojuangcos only declared 4,915 hectares to be agricultural in 1989.
“Of these, 500 hectares were approved for conversion into non-agricultural uses, thus making them exempt from agrarian reform. Another 80.5 hectares was subtracted to make way for the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx),” it said.
Hicap recalled that “Supreme Court’s final 2012 ruling thus ordered only 4,335 hectares for distribution. But this number was again reduced. A survey conducted by FF Cruz Co., a company hired by the DAR, in early April further exempted more than 200 hectares of land from agrarian reform.”
Ambala estimated that a total of 1,063.47 hectares of hacienda lands were illegally converted into non-agricultural uses. Some of these parcels of land are now titled to Luisita Realty Corp., Luisita Golf and Country Club, and Las Haciendas Subdivision, the group added.
Anakpawis quoted Mariano as vowing “to ensure that no farmers will be displaced from their farmland by strengthening their security of tenure over the land.”
Mariano said “We will immediately review the sham ‘tambiolo’ land reform implemented by the DAR in Hacienda Luisita. This review will also include the pending petition by farmers for the revocation of the land-use conversion issued by the DAR in favor of the Cojuangcos of Hacienda Luisita.”
