The cold blooded murder of Ricardo “Ka Ric” Ramos, president of the Central Azucarera de Tarlac Labor Union (CATLU) at the strife-ridden Hacienda Luisita and baranggay captain of Bo. Mapalacsiao, was an act of treachery and desperation. By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo Streetwise / Business World Posted by Bulatlat The cold blooded murder of Ricardo “Ka Ric”…
Category: Agrarian Reform
Corn Farming in Alfonso Lista: The implications of promoting the market-oriented production of modern plant breeds among Cordillera peasants
If former President Marcos had his “Green Revolution” and “miracle rice” program, the Arroyo administration has its agricultural modernization program and Bt corn. But the effects on the peasantry are the same dependence on creditors, indebtedness, soil degradation, and worsening pest infestation. And the peasants sink deeper into the problems of feudal bondage and poverty.…
New Alliance to Hold Palparan Liable for Rights Abuses
“Stop Palparan” is a newly formed group that aims to consolidate and coordinate moves to remove, investigate, prosecute and arrest the Philippine Army’s 7th Infantry Division chief Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan. By Jhong dela Cruz Maxima Punzal, 64, of Norzagaray, Bulacan was among the many women and men who had joined together to seek the…
Hacienda Luisita Workers: Bloodied but Unbowed
Union grieves for murdered Hacienda union chief “Ganun si kapitan. He would risk everything for us. It can only be those who feel threatened by him and the union who would want to kill him.” Thus said a Hacienda Luisita worker of murdered union leader Ricardo Ramos. BY DABET CASTAñEDA Bulatlat.com HACIENDA LUISITA, Tarlac –…
Bayan Muna Leader Assassinated; 13th in Tarlac since November Massacre
By Abner Bolos Oct. 16, 2005 TARLAC CITY- The secretary general of Bayan Muna party-list in Tarlac province was shot dead by still unidentified men yesterday morning, Oct. 15, in his home in Barangay (village) Tuec, Camiling, Tarlac. The victim, Florante Collantes, 51, was the 13th activist to be killed in the province since Nov.…
PARC Stalls Luisita Land Distribution
A cloud of anxiety now stalks the ranks of farm-worker beneficiaries of Hacienda Luisita, the 6,453-ha. sugar estate owned and operated by the powerful Cojuangco clan of Tarlac (120 kms north of Manila). After seeking justice for 37 years, they are made to wait a little longer after the Presidential Agrarian Reform Committee announced, October…
After Luisita, Now It’s Sugarlandia
Negros farmers groups demand similar SDO cancellation First of two parts After Tarlac City, Negros sugarlandia is bracing for peasant rumblings as demand has been raised for the cancellation of the stock distribution scheme (SDO) in several plantations. Negros has the most number of SDOs which, farmers groups say, have made them forever landless. By…
By They Who Harvest
Review of Umani: Mga Likhang Sining ng Buhay at Pakikibaka ng Magsasaka para sa Lupa at Kalayaan, published by the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas 70 pages Umani is a literary anthology about peasants, for peasants and by peasants. Those who have read it will agree that it is a faithful chronicle in poetry, fiction and…
Hacienda Luisita Workers Reap Gains from ‘Bungkalan’
Last June, the unions in Hacienda Luisita declared they will encourage and undertake systematic cultivation of portions of idle land in the plantation to produce food crops and stave off hunger during the rainy season. The “bungkalan” (cultivation) immediately became a big hit among hacienda workers’ families, enabling them to buy food and simple household needs.
Justice or Political Vendetta?
For the third time since the powerful Cojuangco clan acquired the vast sugar estate Hacienda Luisita in 1958, thousands of its farm hands are again facing the prospect of owning the land that is rightfully theirs. Will they finally hit this chance? Will the axe fall on the Cojuangcos this time? BY DABET CASTAÑEDA Ben…
Sweet but Partial Victory
“This victory will not have been possible without the sacrifice of the martyrs of Hacienda Luisita. However, justice for the people of the hacienda will only be complete if the perpetrators of the murders of the seven workers and four of their supporters will be brought to justice.” By Abner Bolos For the plantation and…