The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) lambasted the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) for asking for another extension for its decision regarding the revocation of the stock distribution option (SDO) in Hacienda Luisita, saying that they have no complete facts regarding the case. 

According to Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos, secretary general, KMP, “if that is the case then obviously the PARC is not doing its job, because the facts they are asking for are already at the Department Agrarian Reform  (DAR) since this case started. It is the PARC’s duty to monitor the implementation of the SDO since it started in 1989,now it is saying that they do not have the complete facts. What were they doing all this time? We are also wondering if it is the whole PARC, which is like this, or just Mr. Tapayan.”

“For the record, the KMP and our local chapter the Alyansa ng Manggagawang-bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (AMBALA) have already submitted the data they are asking for in 2003, and have submitted it again several times since then. They are just giving the Cojuangcos’ more time to get to falsify data and get out of this case,” added the peasant leader.

Meanwhile Atty. Jobert Pahilga, executive trustee of Sentro para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (SENTRA) and counsel for the Luisita farm workers said, “this is really getting redundant but none the less we will again submit another copy of the memorandum of agreement for the SDO and the pieces of evidence regarding the violations of the SDO, to the PARC. We will file this on the on the 22nd,”

“But by essentially admitting that they have not been monitoring the implementation of the SDO, the PARC is also accountable for the abuses done by the Cojuangco’s’ against the farm workers. They can rectify this by immediately finalizing the order scrapping the SDO,” ended Pahilga. # # # 
 

KMP - 17 November 2005