ANGELES CITY , Philippines– Two companies identified with the family of President Aquino have surfaced to claim ownership of some 500 hectares of Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac.
These are Tarlac Development Corp. (Tadeco) and Luisita Realty Corp. (LRC), according to the Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala).
On April 8, 1958, the Jose Cojuangco Sr.-owned Tadeco became the owner of Hacienda Luisita and its sugar mill Central Azucarera de Tarlac, said Ambala president Florida Sibayan.
LRC is one of the nine companies under the corporate wing of Jose Cojuangco & Sons (JCSO) whose operations centered principally in Hacienda Luisita, she added.
Founded in 1977, JCSO was to develop the hacienda into “a well-planned, self-sustaining, and ecologically-sound community that will prime the development of a new town,†Sibayan said.
Ambala said during the raffle period for land reform beneficiaries, persons from Tadeco appeared to claim 100 hectares of land in barangay Cutcut, adversely affecting 89 farm workers and about 30 households.
“This area had been part of the bungkalan farming system of the farm workers since 2005,†Ambala said.