PORAC, Pampanga-. Alarmed by “escalating political and agrarian unrest” in Hacienda Dolores here, farmers
groups urged yesterday the House committees on human rights and agrarian reform to investigate the killing of a farmer in the hacienda.
The militant peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and the Alyansa ng Magbubukid ng Gitnang Luzon (AMGL) issued the call as they expressed fears that unless checked, the situation in Hacienda Dolores could follow the pattern of violence that had happened in Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac.
“The escalating agrarian-related violence in Hacienda Dolores seems to be developing a blueprint similar to
the 2004 Hacienda Luisita massacre that led to more intensifi ed political killings at that time,” said KMP Secretary-General Antonio Flores.
Flores noted that “a festival of political killings of activists ensued in Central Luzon after the Hacienda Luisita massacre.” He was referring to the killing of seven farmers in a confrontation with the police and military on land reform in Hacienda Luisita on Nov. 16, 2004.
Last Sunday dawn, three farmers belonging to the Aniban ng Nagkakaisang Mamayan sa Hacienda Dolores (Aniban) were shot allegedly by “armed goons and security guards” of a private firm claiming ownership of parts of the vast Hacienda Dolores here. Farmer Arman Padino died from a bullet wound in his head in a hospital in San Fernando the following day, while two others remained in critical condition also after sustaining gunshot
wounds.
Flores said “the killing of Padino and the wounding of the Tumalis are very alarming as it signals the escalation of human rights violence in Hacienda Dolores.” The hacienda covers 2,099 hectares with 754 hectares that have been cultivated by farming families since 1835.
Now, three private firms are claiming the hacienda including the 754 hectares. The three firms included the Leonardo- Lachenal Holdings, Inc whose three security guards were arrested by the police last Monday in
connection with last Sunday’s shooting.
The police said the farmers were on their way to their farms at about 4 a.m last Sunday when the security guards blocked them, giving rise to physical confrontation. For his part, KMP Vice-Chairperson and AMGL Chair Joseph Canlas said “members of Aniban, the local organization of farmers in the area, are victims of landgrabbing and attacks by these privates firms.”
He noted that “the farmers were dispossessed of their lands in 2011 when the corporations barred them access to their farms.” Canlas said that since then, the farmers have been subjected to various forms of harassment.
He recalled that in December last year a suspected goon allegedly hired by one of the firms threw a grenade in the house of Aniban member Jessel Orgas who was injured. In the same month, Aniban farmer Modesto Posadas survived an attempt on his life, although he was also injured.
