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Jobert Ilarde Pahilga, the lawyer of Hacienda Luisita farmers challenging the stock distribution option (SDO) being implemented in the plantation owned by the family of President Benigno S. Aquino III, explains in this "video primer" the SDO, why the Cojuangco-Aquino family was hell-bent on it, why the lives of the farmers did not improve in spite of it, and why these farmers and peasants are opposed to it. 
Watch the video
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“We will definitely question in all forums available to us the standing of these individuals with whom HLI management negotiated and hold them accountable for their acts,” said Jobert Ilarde Pahilga, a lawyer for the farm workers.
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Sidebar: A History of Deception in Hacienda Luisita | Sidebar: President Aquino Can Be Held Equally Liable for ‘Grand Deception’ vs. Luisita Farmers | Previous story: ‘Breakthrough Deal’ Is a Lie Meant to Sway Supreme Court Decision on Hacienda Luisita, Say Farmers | Previous story: How Hacienda Luisita Stock Scheme Led to Farmers’ Misery | Read the compromise agreement | Full coverage: Hacienda Luisita
President Benigno S. Aquino III can be held equally liable for what progressive groups have described as a “sham” deal involving his family’s Hacienda Luisita.
Jobert Ilarde Pahilga, the lawyer for the farm workers in Hacienda Luisita, said HLI’s compromise agreement is “the third time that the Cojuangcos-Aquinos betrayed agrarian reform and the HLI farm workers.”
his is a copy, which Sentra emailed to Bulatlat, of the compromise agreement between Hacienda Luisita Inc. and the farm workers.
By DABET CASTAÑEDA
In 2004, Bulatlat.com published a two-part investigative report on Hacienda Luisita, its troubled history, and the struggle of the farmers and workers for land and justice. The first part, For Land and Wages: Half a Century of Peasant Struggle in Hacienda Luisita, talks about the lives of the farmers and the events that led to the strike and massacre. The second part, Poorly Paid Workers Lose Jobs — and Homes, Too, exposes the toll the conflict had on the peasants.
Click here for more Bulatlat stories and multimedia content on Hacienda Luisita.
The Versolas continue to support the strike, visiting the picket line to watch documentaries on the massacre, help in the kitchen chores or just exchange views with anyone.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“We never had any dialogue [with HLI management],” said Lito Bais, a leader of the Luisita union, noting that the Inquirer report on the deal came two weeks before the scheduled oral arguments before the Supreme Court on Aug. 18. Bais said the supposed agreement is meant to send a message to the members of the high court. “They want to influence the outcome of the SC decision.”
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
The KMP promises to continue the struggle for the rights and welfare of Filipino peasants. "We would continue fighting for a genuine agrarian reform program with the main goal of free land distribution," said Rep. Rafael Mariano.
Francisco Dizon of Ambala, a union in Hacienda Luisita, talks about the plight of the farmers and workers in the sugar plantation owned by the family of President Aquino. This discussion is part of the coverage of Bulatlat.com and Kodao Productions of Aquino's first State of the Nation Address.
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Because the Arroyo administration left the country in a crisis of unparalleled proportions, progressive groups presented an agenda, which they deem as necessary for the nation's survival.
By MARYA SALAMAT
Seven in every 10 Filipinos are farmers, the KMP (Peasant Movement of the Philippines) emphasized, which was why they had been trying to bring their demands right to the president himself. If there is to be change, a lot of it must happen on farmers’ lives, they said.
Update: Peasants in Mendiola Camp-out, First Victims of Violent Dispersal Under the New Government
By MARYA SALAMAT
Instead of getting closer to their dream of owning the land they have been tilling for decades, Hacienda Luisita farmers are being told by soldiers to stop their struggle for land or else 'something will happen' to them.
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