EDITORIAL

The Need To Redistribute

Hacienda Luisita

Liberal Party standard bearer Noynoy Aquino’s initiative to redistribute Hacienda Luisita will put a closure to an issue that has been used by partisans of his main political rival to demonize him and his family, his spokesperson said.

"To say that this is a recycled line adopted from President Cory’s 1986 campaign against Marcos is stretching the often repeated lie too far," said lawyer Edwin Lacierda.

"The fact that Sen. Aquino has now decided to honestly declare his plans on agrarian reform and Hacienda Luisita is proof of his resolve to settle this once and for all," he said.

Lacierda also belied claims by allies of Sen. Manny Villar that President Cory exempted the family-owned sugar estate from the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL).

On the contrary, he said that President Cory expanded the agrarian reform program to include land planted to coconut and sugarcane under CARL.

This was way beyond the scope of the land reform program launched by her two predecessors, Diosdado Macapagal and Ferdinand Marcos, who limited coverage to rice and corn lands only.

"The truth is (former) President Cory acted against the very interest of her family and class, and yet she is being attacked for doing so by those who benefited most from the restoration of democracy in 1986," Lacierda said.

He also said the records will show that the stock distribution option was one of the ways of re-distribution under CARL and more than 90 percent of the farm workers of Hacienda Luisita approved of the proposal in a referendum.

"There is a process that needs to be followed. Sen. Noynoy will have to be judged by history on the basis of the promises that he made on the first day of this presidential campaign," Lacierda said.

"We challenge Sen. Villar to declare his position on agrarian reform and tell us exactly what his deal is with his supporters in the Left," he said.

Why Wait For Five Years?

Why wait for five years to redistribute Hacienda Luisita? Is the redistribution of that huge tract of land a pre-condition for Noynoy Aquino’s election as president of the Philippines?

Is Sen. Aquino asking the Filipinos to elect him president of the Philippines so that he will redistribute Hacienda Luisita? Sen. Aquino can start the first step to redistribute that land in San Miguel, Tarlac now.

It must be recalled that the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) was established to provide the financial needs of the agrarian reform program beneficiaries under RA 3844, Agrarian Reform Law. When Cory was president, LBP was converted into a commercial bank.

Until the end of 1985, the farmers were enjoying interest free loans for rice and corn production under the supervised credit program. When Cory became president that was stopped.

Simply stated, former president Corazon Aquino deprived the Filipino farmers of financial help and adversely affected agrarian reform implementation.

For one thing, will Sen. Aquino return to the coconut farmers the more than P100 billion coconut levy fund being hoarded, used, and enjoyed by his close relative?

By all means, let us elect Noynoy to the presidency if he redistributes Hacienda Luisita to the tenants now, repays to the coconut farmers the coco levy fund, and provides appropriate assistance to farmers to increase agricultural production and net income. /MP