Noynoy wants out of Hacienda Luisita

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III yesterday said it was time for his family to give up their shares of the Hacienda Luisita sugar estate, but only after finding a solution to the farmers’ dispute and securing jobs for them.

“My suggestion to my siblings and my relatives is for us to fix everything and then we should be out of it so that my provincemates won’t have to be affected anymore,” Aquino said in an interview.

Aquino said Hacienda Luisita had been operating well from 1958 until 2004, when the workers went on strike over disputes on the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

“They have jobs, salaries and benefits before, now if we will just continue engaging in a dispute nothing will happen. They cannot bring back jobs to my fellowmen, do they have other plans on how to divide and transfer the lands there?” Aquino said.

Aquino also explained his family was keeping a minority share of the hacienda and would not have much influence in the decision-making, but the farmers were his utmost concern.

Aquino said distributing the land to the farmers might not be the perfect solution to the problem because the number of beneficiaries was much bigger than the hectares of land that could be divided.

The ratio of distribution is also an issue because the lands have bad and good yields, Aquino said.

Aquino also expressed belief the issue was being politicized and that he was being made to appear as someone who lacked genuine concern for the farmers.

“They (striking workers) are dictating that I should answer when some of them are not even from there, they are not really part of the problem. And my interest is how to provide jobs for the people there,” Aquino said.

“It’s part of (the solution, giving up ownership). I personally like that. Also my ownership is a very small percentage,” he said.

Aquino said his mother, the late former President Corazon Aquino, had divested ownership of the hacienda when the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law was passed under her administration.

He said it was quite easy for the striking workers to make comments before the media but were not actually laying down solutions to the problems at the hacienda.

Aquino said he would see how his family could help the farmers, either through sugar production or other means.

The issue had always been raised against the Aquinos and is being brought up again because the senator is running in next year’s polls as the presidential standard-bearer of the Liberal Party.

Recently, farmers were asked to register so that those who are illegally staying there will be evicted.

Hacienda Luisita Inc.’s (HLI) deadline for registration was moved from Oct. 30 to Nov. 15, but the scheme is being resisted by the workers amid a pending agrarian dispute between HLI and the United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU) before the Supreme Court.