DAR Secretary talks to Farmers of Hacienda Luisita

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Rafael Mariano met with the farmers of Hacienda Luisita, Friday, July 8. Farmers of Hacienda Luisita have asked the new secretary of the DAR to invalidate the allegedly flawed distribution system used by the past Aquino administration. Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) chair Joseph Canlas criticized the anomalous and “fake” land distribution done by the DAR during the Aquino administration, saying those who benefitted from the land distribution scheme were mostly those favored by the Hacienda Luisita owners.

Mariano promised to work on this for 30 days. Mariano also vowed to conduct an inventory of the Hacienda Luisita land that had been allegedly distributed to farmer-beneficiaries. “Walang mapapatalsik na magsasaka sa kanilang lupang sinasaka,” Mariano promised the farmers during the dialogue.

Hacienda Luisita

Hacienda Luisita is a 6,453-hectare sugar plantation in Tarlac that was borrowed by the Cojuangco-Aquino family from the farmers. The hacienda spans various municipalities in the province, including the capital Tarlac City. Because the Hacienda Luisita was just borrowed by Cojuangco-Aquino family from the farmers, they had a deal that after 10 years they will return all of the land. But as of 2016, the Cojuangco-Aquino family has not yet returned most of the borrowed land, even during the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III.

In fact, the family of the former president has managed to reclaim ownership of the 6,453-hectare Hacienda Luisita, reducing the farmer-beneficiaries who were supposed to own the land under the agrarian reform program to sakadas or plantation workers, according to a federation of agricultural workers, the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura.

The estate is as large as Makati City and Pasig City combined. ●