'No militarization in Hacienda Luisita'

MANILA, Philippines - The corporation owned by the family of President Aquino that is running Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac yesterday denied that the sugar estate has been “militarized.”

The Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) of the Cojuangcos said the allegation of the Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala) of increased military presence in their communities was “a baseless propaganda meant to pressure the Supreme Court (SC) to hastily deviate from established processes in resolving the Hacienda Luisita case with finality.”

“The number of individuals keeping the hacienda secure has been the same for years. HLI has not asked for any additional military or police forces to keep the peace and order and no voluntary action has been taken by any of the government agencies to address that,” lawyer Antonio Ligon, HLI spokesman, said in an interview.

Ligon said military presence in communities in the hacienda is not new since they are just a few meters away from Camp Servillano Aquino.

He said military presence is necessary as the estate is situated in the middle of La Paz and Concepcion towns and Tarlac City, and also to secure the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

“Actually we think that security in the hacienda is not sufficient, but we recognize that the military institution is the correct party to determine and assess the amount of threat present in the area,” Ligon said.

He said the issue of militarization is just an attempt by some quarters to generate more media attention while legitimate litigants and claimants are in the process of clearing up the issues on the SC ruling.

“HLI has repeatedly stated its position that land distribution, as the SC has ruled, is the answer, but HLI also wants justice for all, including 4,000 other farmer beneficiaries who may be disenfranchised,” he added.

The HLI raised the remaining issues in its motion for reconsideration submitted to the SC earlier this year, and SC spokesman Midas Marquez had already said the tribunal was merely awaiting the comments of concerned parties to the appeal.

“We believe that due process should take its natural course and we should not hasten resolution of important issues that should be addressed. If we will go for land distribution, who should benefit and what is the responsibility of the government? There is also the issue of just compensation for the owners,” he said.

“As we have said before, the issues surrounding Hacienda Luisita should not be politicized because this will only prolong the process,” he added.