Another 18 farmers have sought the assistance of government agencies to negotiate their return to Mindanao after they have escaped from Hacienda Luisita, a peasant group said on Monday. (photo from UMA Pilipinas)
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — A total of 18 farmers have sought the assistance of government agencies to negotiate their return to Mindanao after they have escaped from Hacienda Luisita, a peasant group said on Monday.
Farmers’ group, Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura said the 18 farmers came from Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, South Cotabato and Compostela Valley.
“This issue should no longer be discussed in whispers. There must be a full-blown investigation on massive-scale human trafficking of sacadas to Hacienda Luisita. The perpetrators Greenhand Labor Service Cooperative, Agrikulto, Inc., and Central Azucarera de Tarlac (CAT) must be punished,” Danilo Ramos, UMA secretary general, said in a statement Monday.
“They fared worse than those from Bukidnon because they had to stay longer in dire conditions,” he said, citing the meager salary that the farmers received ranging from P80.01 – P269.52 per week or only P11.43 to P38.50 per day.
With this UMA’s Ramos urged the Department of Labor and Employment to shutdown the operations of Greenhand, an agency responsible for the recruitment of sugarcane workers from Mindanao to Hacienda Luisita.
“DOLE must immediately act to shut down the operations of Greenhand, which is reportedly recruiting new sugar workers from Mindanao to replace those who have left Hacienda Luisita,” he said.
He added: “The sakada issue also proves that land reform in Hacienda Luisita is a total sham. The Department of Agrarian Reform must immediately investigate the operations of Agrikulto, Inc. which is openly encroaching on land reform areas either through the illicit aryendo, or by brute force.”
It can be recalled that UMA has exposed the so-called “trafficking of Mindanao sakadas to Hacienda Luisita” when it rescued a total of 52 sugar cane workers during the Christmas holidays.
Around 1,000 sakadas were said to be recruited from Mindanao to work for Agrikulto, Inc., which controls vast sugarcane farms in Hacienda Luisita through illicit lease deals and encroaching on supposed land reform areas.
Agrikulto is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Central Azucarera de Tarlac, which is now jointly-owned by the Cojuangco-Aquinos with Martin Lorenzo, scion of the Lorenzo landlord family of Mindanao, owners of Lapanday Foods Corp (LFC).
“There can be no peace until the Cojuangco-Aquinos and the Lorenzos are made to pay for their atrocities against farmers,” he said. “The issue of land reform in Hacienda Luisita and the plight of the sacada are important matters that should be tackled in the peace talks.” (davaotoday.com)
