Caravan of thousands to Luisita set on Monday; Land and justice for Luisita farmers on fifth anniv of massacre! - Anakpawis

Anakpawis Partylist, the country’s biggest partylist of workers, farmers and urban poor, announced today in a press conference in Quezon City the “Lakbayan ng Anakpawis para sa Lupa at Katarungan,” a people’s caravan to Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac on Monday to mark the fifth anniversary of the massacre of seven striking agri-workers.

On Nov. 16, 2004, police and military brutally dispersed striking hacienda farmers and farm workers  who were protesting the miserable take-home pay of P9.50 a day and the retrenchment of more than 300 workers tantamount to union-busting.

The caravan is the culmination of activities of various organizations such as the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay), and Anakpawis Partylist to commemorate the said occasion.

“It’s all systems go,” declared Rep. Rafael “Paeng” Mariano, Anakpawis 1st nominee for the 2010 elections and KMP chairperson, about the caravan.

“More than 2,000 people from the National Capital Region and nearby provinces will troop to Luisita to express solidarity with the farmers and farmworkers there. We will be welcomed by more than 1,000 people from the hacienda for a program. The families of those who died in the 2004 massacre will be at the forefront,” he added.

For his part, Rep. Joel Maglunsod, Anakpawis 2nd nominee for the 2010 elections and former KMU secretary-general, reiterated the calls of the Lakbayan.

“Five years after the massacre, we have three main demands in relation to Hacienda Luisita. First, distribute the hacienda lands now! Second, justice for the victims of the massacre and extra-judicial killings! And third, scrap Assumption of Jurisdiction (AJ)!” he said. 

Maglunsod said that the Stock Distribution Option, which was implemented by the hacienda owners, should be junked, so that farmers can own the lands. He said that five years after the massacre, not much progress has been done to the cases filed against those criminally liable for the incident.

He also said that the AJ issued by then-DOLE Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas served as the “license to kill” for the military and police forces deployed to the strike.

Meanwhile, Randall Echanis, Anakpawis 3rd nominee for the 2010 elections, KMP deputy secretary-general, and the object of politically-motivated trumped-up charges, said that apart from the seven who were killed in the massacre, more leaders and supporters of the strike were gunned down months after the massacre.

“The brutality towards the Luisita farmers and farmworkers went beyond the hacienda and Nov. 16, 2004. We are also calling for justice for all of them,” Echanis said, citing the cases of union leader Ric Ramos, Iglesia Filipina Independiente bishop Alberto Ramento, Tarlac City councilor Abel Ladera, union leader Tirso Cruz among others. ###