Luisita workers reap seeds of decades-old struggle
"We occupied the land because it belongs to us. We used the idle land for the benefit of our children,”
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
TARLAC CITY – “Now, we have something to eat,” Florida Sibayan, 55, a farm worker in Hacienda Luisita, said. “Life is better.”
She, along with hundreds of families inside the more than 6,000
hectare Hacienda Luisita, cultivated parcels of land for palay and
vegetables, in defiance of the Cojuango-Aquino clan. Under the stock
distribution option (SDO) scheme, farm workers were not allowed to plant
palay and other crops, with the vast land devoted only to sugarcane.
The SDO was implemented in Hacienda Luisita, a non-land transfer
scheme allowed under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP),
shortly after President Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino rose to power in 1986.
Instead of land, stocks were distributed to the farm workers.
Seven years ago, Sibayan only knew hunger and hardships. As
stockholders of Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI), each of the farm worker was
given one day a week to work at the sugar plantation. They earn P9.50
($0.22) per week, or P38 ($0.88) per month.
This meant starvation for the family. It was this situation that
compelled Halili and hundreds of other farm workers to stage a strike in
November 2004. On November 16, barely a week since they set up the
picketline, policemen and soldiers fired at the farm workers, killing
seven and wounding hundreds.
Lioning Halili, 55, vows to continue struggling for the future of her grandchildren.(Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / bulatlat.com)
One hectare yields 120 sacks of palay. Halili sells palay at P13 ( $0.30) per kilo and/or rice at P76 ($1.77) for every three kilos. “Life is so much better compared to those days of misery,” she said, referring to the years before 2004.
Sibayan said the same. “We never run out of rice,” she said. She and her family harvest 145 sacks of rice every cropping season. “We are now selling vegetables.”.... MORE
Source: Bulatlat.com
URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/11/18/luisita-workers-reap-seeds-of-decades-old-struggle/
1 comment
ok ito, ah: OCCUPY HACIENDA LUISITA. yun nga lang, baka magka.part 2 ng Hacienda Luisita Massacre. ngek!
"“We occupied the land because it belongs to us. We used the idle land for the benefit of our children,” Pastor Gabby of the United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP) said.
"“RCBC has no legitimate claim of the lands as history has proven that the Cojuangcos did not legitimately own Hacienda Luisita. They should hold the Cojuangcos accountable as this landlord family consciously offered lands that are under clear agrarian dispute,” said Joseph Canlas, chairman of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson (AMGL)."
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