The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) chided Philippine National Police Chief Edgardo Aglipay that the taskfroce he created to investigate and solve the January 5 shooting of 2 Hacienda Luisita strikers is inutile. “Aglipay should set a 72 hour deadline for the task force to bring the suspects to court , because it has been 9 days since the shooting and not one of the suspects have been caught. Why is the PNP dragging its feet? Who are they protecting?” asked Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos, secretary general of the group.

“This feet dragging and the fact that the policemen hid when the shooting started, as well as the PNP’s role in the November 16 massacre, substantiates the belief of the victims and witnesses that the PNP is ot credible and cannot be trusted to undertake an impartial investigation,” added the peasant leader.

“Besides they already have the plate number of the getaway vehicle as well as a carthographic sketch of one of the assailants, what’s taking them so long? Or is this another open and never to close case? Are the Cojuangco-Aquinos stake or involvement in this too obvious that the police cannot move so that the powerful clan can be shielded from blame? This questions have to be answered at the soonest time possible,” stressed Ramos.

As for his part Ka Willy Marbella, spokesperson of KMP “we are also issuing a challenge to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to take extra-ordinary measures to resolve the conflict in Hacienda Luisita and avert further bloodshed. A concrete example of which is to give the legitimate demands of the strikers or suspend any order of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that would further escalate the tension in the hacienda. As an extreme measure it can take over the azucarera from the Cojuangco-Aquinos and give the demands of the workers, so that the sugar mill can operate again,”

“At the very least she can obligate the Cojuangco-Aquinos to attend the hearings at Congress and Senate so that they can be held liable for their actions, they should also be made to attend the negotiations of the Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) and not just their lawyers who have no decision making powers. It is only through this that the conflict in the sugar estate can be eased and at the long run be resolved” ended Marbella. # # #

KMP - 14 January 2005