The Hacienda Luisita Massacre: How It Happened
The violence that marred the strike of plantation and milling workers of the Cojuangco-owned Hacienda Luisita on Nov. 16 was bound to happen and government authorities may have to account for it.
HACIENDA LUISITA & AGRARIAN REFORM
Hacienda Luisita is a classic example of feudalism still reigning in the country. Hacienda Luisita is a vast sugarcane plantation in Central Luzon controlled by the Cojuangco clan since the 1950s. The Cojuangcos obtained the land through a government loan with a provision that after ten years, they would give the land back to the tenants. They never did.
The struggle of farm workers gained national attention when policemen and soldiers opened fire at picketing workers on November 16, 2004, leaving seven dead.
Bulatlat covered the quest for justice for the victims of the massacre, the miserable conditions of farm workers, the loopholes in the agrarian reform program, and how the Cojuangco-Aquino clan evaded land distribution.
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The Untold Story of Hacienda Luisita Workers
The Untold Story of Hacienda Luisita Workers
Holding a multi-colored bayong (plastic market bag), Mang Pering, a retired sugar farm worker, looked half-scared and half-exited. Inside his bayong was a panti (fish net made of nylon) and some dry clothes. He is on his way to the nearby river where he hopes to get some fish so his family would have something to eat for the day. But before he left, he said he only had one wish: “Sana hindi ako mahuli ng gwardya” (I hope the guard won’t catch me).
Tarlac Councilor Is 9th Luisita Martyr; Victim’s Kin Finger Cojuangcos, Military as Suspects
Tarlac Councilor Is 9th Luisita Martyr; Victim’s Kin Finger Cojuangcos, Military as Suspects
From his humble beginnings as a sugar worker, City Councilor Abelardo R. Ladera emerged as one of the few successful local political figures who openly stood against the Cojuangco-Aquino dynasty in Tarlac. Ladera was gunned down at high noon of March 3 making him Tarlac’s first local official assassinated in the post-dictator era.
Living on the Edge: The Sacadas of Hacienda Luisita
Living on the Edge: The Sacadas of Hacienda Luisita
After several minutes of searching in the shadows, we finally find them, with lights from their gas lamps flickering through sack-covered bunkhouses. They stay by the edge of the Cojuangcos’ sprawling sugar plantation in Tarlac, far from the estate’s factories and barrios.
Massacre Shooters Go Berserk in Luisita, Claim 8th Victim
Massacre Shooters Go Berserk in Luisita, Claim 8th Victim
Shots shattered the evening calm as a peasant leader, Marcelino Beltran, went out of his house to greet some “visitors.” The visitors pumped bullets into his body and he died two hours later – the eighth to fall following the Nov. 16 massacre of seven farmers at Hacienda Luisita.
Cojuangco-Aquinos Denounced for Using Millions to Lure, Deceive Luisita Farm Workers
Cojuangco-Aquinos Denounced for Using Millions to Lure, Deceive Luisita Farm Workers
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Ulwu chairman Lito Bais said the financial package from Hacienda Luisita management was meant to lure farm workers into the compromise-agreement bait. “They exploited the poverty of the farm workers and used money to deceive them,” he said. Bais also accused the Cojuangco-Aquinos of "hoodwinking" farm workers of hundreds of millions from earlier land deals.
In Crafting ‘Sham’ Deal, Cojuangco-Aquinos Turned to Leaders Who Had Earlier Betrayed Farm Workers
In Crafting ‘Sham’ Deal, Cojuangco-Aquinos Turned to Leaders Who Had Earlier Betrayed Farm Workers
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Kicked out of farmers' groups and the workers’ union in Hacienda Luisita, the two key signatories in the compromise agreement supposedly representing the farmer beneficiaries have a history of betrayal against the farm workers and collaboration with the Cojuangco-Aquinos.
Luisita Deal ‘a Travesty of Social Justice’
Luisita Deal ‘a Travesty of Social Justice’
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Jobert Pahilga, lawyer of the farm workers’ group Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Hacienda Luisita (Ambala), enumerates some of the provisions of the compromise agreement that are inimical to the interest of the farm workers.
A History of Deception in Hacienda Luisita
A History of Deception in 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.”
A Look Back: Hacienda Luisita, the SDO, and the Farmers’ Struggle for Land
A Look Back: Hacienda Luisita, the SDO, and the Farmers’ Struggle for Land
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.
Hacienda Luisita: Poorly Paid Workers Lose Jobs — and Homes, Too
Hacienda Luisita: Poorly Paid Workers Lose Jobs — and Homes, Too
BULATLAT INVESTIGATIVE REPORT Farm workers of Hacienda Luisita dispute the claim by the Cojuangcos that SDO has been good for their thousands of farm workers. Farm workers say they have been losing their jobs, receiving pitiable pay and may lose their own homes,...
For Land and Wages: Half a Century of Peasant Struggle in Hacienda Luisita
For Land and Wages: Half a Century of Peasant Struggle in 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.
Luisita Survivors: Ombudsman’s Biggest Group of Complainants
Luisita Survivors: Ombudsman’s Biggest Group of Complainants
The Office of the Ombudsman has now the biggest number of complainants since it was formed during the last years of martial law: 52 farmers, survivors and relatives of seven victims in the Nov. 16 Hacienda Luisita massacre. BY DABET CASTAÑEDA Bulatlat.com The...
Tirso Cruz: 14th Luisita Martyr
Tirso Cruz: 14th Luisita Martyr
BY ABNER BOLOS Gitnang Luson News Service Posted by Bulatlat.com As the 14th martyr of the Hacienda Luisita struggle was buried, the issues connected to his death continue to hound the strife-torn hacienda. Concepcion, Tarlac - The mourners marched under the...
The Hazards of Toiling for the Cojuangcos
The Hazards of Toiling for the Cojuangcos
A lost foot, a lost job and a threat to lose his home. This tale of a sugar mill worker at the Central Azucarera de Tarlac brings to fore the miserable conditions that bug the work force of Luzon’s largest sugar refinery. BY DABET CASTAÑEDA Bulatlat.com It was 30...
Bayan Muna Leader Assassinated; 13th in Tarlac since November Massacre
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,...
Hacienda Luisita Workers Reap Gains from ‘Bungkalan’
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.
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