This, as they and other hacienda farmworkers marked yesterday the 5th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s final verdict on April 24 five years ago, ordering distribution of some 6,000 hectares of lands within the hacienda owned by the family of former president Benigno Aquino.
Emy Ladera-Facunla, spokesperson of the Mothers and Relatives against Tyranny and Repression or MARTYR, an organization of relatives of victims of the massacre, lamented that “justice remains elusive after more than 12 years since the massacre.” Facunla’s brother Abel Ladera, a former Tarlac City councilor who had fought for land reform in Hacienda Luisita, was shot dead in 2005 and his murder has remained unsolved.
“No one among the massacre suspects was punished. More injustices were shouldered by farmworkers and the families of the victims with maneuvers of the Cojuangco- Aquino to circumvent the Supreme Court decision on land distribution,” Facunla said.
All charges against those implicated in the so-called Hacienda Lusita Massacre that killed seven farmers in 2004 were junked one after the other.
The massacre happened on Nov. 11, 2004 during a rally of farmworkers demanding land reform in the hacienda.
Facunla recalled that after the massacre, survivors and relatives of the victims filed cases against suspects that included the former president who was then congressman, officials of the Department of Labor, and Armed Forces personnel.
“Unfortunately, accused personnel were given only minor administrative sanctions. The Ombudsman dropped charges against police and military personnel in 2010, while an appeal by the victims’ families was junked in 2014,” she recalled.
Facunla said the family of Aquino has remained in direct control of some 1,000 more hectares of lands within the hacienda and that these lands should also be distributed to farm workers.
“Our resolve to launch the bungkalan, or land cultivation of such lands in Hacienda Luisita is part of our quest for justice,” she stressed.
Nadja de Vera, spokesperson of Ugnayan ng Manggagawang Agrikultura (UMA), recalled that last February, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) issued a partial revocation of the land conversion order for a 500-hectare property made idle since 1996 by RCBC, LIPCO and Luisita Land Co. (formerly Luisita Realty Corp.).
“These lands should be rightfully returned to farmers to till. We will struggle for land rights for the Hacienda Luisita farm workers no matter how long it takes” said Erwin Laza, brother of Jesus Laza, one of the victims of Hacienda Luisita massacre.
The victims of the Hacienda Luisita massacre include Jesus Laza, Jaime Fastidio, Jessie Valdez, Adriano Caballero Jr, Jhaivie Basilio, Jhune David and Juancho Sanchez.
De Vera also noted that after the massacre, other leaders and advocates of the Luisita land reform were also either killed and or just vanished. They included Marcelino Beltran, Abel Ladera, Fr. William Tadena, Ricardo Ramos, Tirso Cruz, Ronald Intal and Bishop Alberto Ramento.
