Hacienda Luisita: A blessing or curse
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| Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz |
There must be something vicious and odious appended to the now infamous Hacienda Luisita. To this date, the bitter issues between the owners and tillers concerned refuse to be laid to rest. To start with — for record and recall — there were no less than two massacres connected with the said sugarland and sugar central: The earlier one in a known “Mendiola Massacre” that had a bearing with Agrarian Reform in general, supposedly the centerpiece of the program of the then government, the head of which however, was directly linked with Hacienda Luisita itself. The later known as the “Hacienda Luisita Massacre” in fact took place within the much contested land itself that stood as some kind of symbol of anti-agrarian reform. Much blood was shed and many lives were lost — on the part of the farmers as a matter of fact. And to this writing, the sugar estate remains a signal issue to all those concerned with its apparently addicted ownership. Thus it is that some question are repeatedly brought to fore.
What kept the present owners of the Hacienda Luisita continuously haunted since their purchase thereof? It is said that its previous owner, Tabacalera, wanted payments in US dollar which was facilitated by none other than the then Commander-in-Chief of a militarized government. It is further said that the same symbol of martial law made direct representation before Central Bank of the Philippines for the US dollar payment..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20101202com7.html
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