Luisita workers rally at Aquino house over 'sabotage'

Manila, Philippines -  Hacienda Luisita workers vowed yesterday to continue to hold rallies at President Aquino’s house on Times street in Quezon City, accusing the President’s family of allegedly sabotaging efforts to distribute the hacienda land.

The protesters tried to storm Aquino’s house, but police blocked them and they instead staged a rally at a nearby road.

“The President’s family has continued its effort to sabotage the land distribution that the Supreme Court decided on its Nov. 22, 2011 and April 24, 2012 landmark decisions that favored the distribution of hacienda lands to the farmers,” said Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid ng Gitnang Luson chair Joseph Canlas.

Canlas accused the President’s family of sabotaging land distribution by allegedly coming up with their own list of 10,000 land reform beneficiaries in the hacienda and submitting this to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

“DAR has been making itself busy with nonsense and wasting much precious time. It already has the list of the 6,296 beneficiaries but it has been giving room to the motion of the President’s family which is clearly a delaying tactic,” Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita chairperson Rodel Mesa said.

Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas deputy secretary general Willy Marbella said the enlistment is allegedly “a ploy aimed at placing Cojuangco dummies as so-called beneficiaries.”

– With Reinir Padua