Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas
“Muster strength and advance genuine agrarian reform,” Luisita farmers urged
On the 20th year of injustice of the heinous Hacienda Luisita massacre, the peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) has called on farmers and farmworkers to “muster the strength and indefatigably advance the fight for genuine land reform,” emphasizing that “the conditions that ignited the November 2004 people’s strike in Luisita in Tarlac have even worsened.”
KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos pointed out that “the unyielding control of the ruling elite and big landlords over the contested landholding, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling to distribute Hacienda Luisita, has made justice elusive for the victims and survivors of the massacre.”
Alongside the Cojuangcos and Lorenzo’s TADECO, the presence of Ayala Land Inc. and Aboitiz InfraCapital in the landholding has grown, with plans to convert over 1,200 hectares of productive agricultural land into commercial developments.
To “muster strength,” the KMP emphasized the need for farmworkers to build solid organization and unwavering unity to confront both land grabbers and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) operating in Luisita.
“It is a political necessity to strengthen the broad alliance of peasants, farmworkers, and the people of Hacienda Luisita to end landlord control over the land and to achieve genuine land reform,” the peasant group declared.
The KMP recalled that the “tambiolo” or lottery-style land distribution scheme imposed by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in collusion with the Cojuangcos during Noynoy Aquino’s term, only served to entrench the Cojuangcos’ control over the land. “Farmers were coerced into the “sugar block farm” and arriendo schemes, ensuring they remain waged laborers in the sugar industry,” the KMP said.
The group also condemned the militarization of Hacienda Luisita under the Duterte administration, where the Northern Luzon Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has stationed forces at the very gates of the hacienda, alongside paramilitary groups and goons.” These forces have been accused of perpetuating fear, violence, and human rights abuses against the people.
“These maneuvers by previous and current administrations are divisive and devious, with one clear objective: to maintain landlord control and further entrench dominance over Luisita lands,” the KMP stated.
Much of the land supposedly redistributed after the 2012 Supreme Court decision has been taken back by landlords and corporations. At least 588 hectares excluded from the court ruling are being grabbed with Marcos Jr.’s approval, while 987 families face eviction for Ayala’s planned leisure development.
The DAR and Marcos Jr.’s claim of redistributing 219 hectares to farmers is deceptive, echoing past betrayals. It misleads farmers into believing they would finally gain control of land long due to them. In reality, this “redistribution” was an empty show aimed at portraying the so-called Marcos legacy, all while facilitating the Cojuangco-Aquinos’ evasion of genuine land reform.
The Marcos Jr administration fast-tracks deals between agrarian reform beneficiaries and corporations, enabling farmland conversion into industrial parks, solar farms, golf courses, or malls, and locking peasants into exploitative agri-business schemes. These one-sided arrangements leave farmers worse off, stripped of land and livelihood.
Moreover, Marcos Jr.’s administration has blocked the distribution of 358 hectares under DAR’s 2014 Notices of Coverage. His regime has allowed violence and harassment in Hacienda Luisita, with landlords’ private goons and military forces demolishing homes and perpetuating fear to protect elite control over the land.
KMP emphasized that the exhaustion of all legal remedies underscores the fact that true justice will not come from the courts or agencies controlled by landlords. “The landlords will never voluntarily relinquish Hacienda Luisita. The real arena of struggle lies not in the courts, but within the very heart of Hacienda Luisita, where the state and the people are in direct confrontation,” the KMP declared.
The group stressed that, after two decades of struggle, it is crucial for farmers and farmworkers in Hacienda Luisita to prepare for a more arduous battle. “Luisita farmworkers must link arms with the broad people’s movement to assert genuine land reform,” the KMP concluded.
