The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) lambasted Jose “Peping” Cojuangco, Congressman Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and DOLE Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas for spreading lies and misinformation about the massacre done by the elements of the PNP and the 69th IB of the AFP, with the blessing of the DOLE through the Assumption of Jurisdiction. 

According to Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos, secretary general of the group, “First off, Cojuangco keeps saying that the strikers are not their workers is absolutely false, majority of the 5,339 farmworkers in the hacienda, as well as the more than 600 workers in the refinery are on the picketline. These strikers are the overwheming majority of the workers and farmworkers in both the refinery and the plantation. The management’s claim that the ones representating the strikers are not legitimate workers is also false because as can be seen by the overwhelming support of their fellow workers Rene “Boyet” Galang ,ULWU president and Ric Ramos, CATLU president, are the leaders recognized  by the majority of the workers. Not the yellow union leader that the management placed when they illegally retrenched Galang,”

“Second, as to their point that there are many oustsiders or instigators in the ranks of the strikers, this again is not true. As can be seen by the identities of the victims of the massacre itself, they all came from the hacienda. The demands of the strikers are also all legitimate and just that all of the residents of the 10 barangays in the hacienda support the strike. These are the wives, sons, daugthers and relatives of the strikers, who are also being severely affected by the very repressive policies of the management.One such policy is that the workers nor their families cannot plant vegetables on the land, even if they starve to death, because the Cojuangcos as they claim own the land. As for who started the strike it was the workers themselves who started it, considering that they almost have nothing to eat, the presence of our organizations now, is just a matter of showing support for a just cause,” added the peasant leader.

“Third, this is not merely a question of a labor dispute, a central issue of the demands is the right to till the land.This is the gist of the problem, unless the right to till the land is not given to the farm workers then the strike will continue. With their salaries not even enough for a tricycle fare, they need another source of sustenance to feed their families. Is it not just right to fight for this? Then why the massacre?” asked Ramos.

“Noynoy should be stripped of the title of deputy speaker for Luzon or better yet he should be stricken from the House of Representative roster, he certainly does not represent his contituents and is in fact their oppressor,” said Carl Anthony Ala, public information officer of KMP,

“Sec. Sto. Tomas should also resign for using her position to further oppress workers and there are talks that the AJ ruling of the DOLE comes at a price, we just wondering how much Sto. Tomas got, for giving the police and military the licence to kill the strikers?” asked Ala. # # #
 

KMP - 18 November 2004