With the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) final decision on the revocation of the stock distribution option (SDO) in Hacienda Luisita, the militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and its local chapter the Alyansa ng Manggagawang-bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (AMBALA) called for the immediate implementation. According to Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos, secretary general of KMP, “the least the government can do now is to immediately implement the SDO revocation as a long overdue compensation for the sweat and blood spilled by the farm workers in the struggle for land. Decades have already passed since the struggle for Hacienda Luisita started and we know that this is just an initial victory because the Cojuangcos would do all they can to retake the land,”

“We are now strategizing on how to confront the powerful Cojuangco family’s maneuvers in all fronts. But for now the farm workers can at least enjoy the fruits of their labor themselves, they are no longer tied to the Cojuangcos. They are not feudal slaves anymore,” added the peasant leader.

“We are also encouraging other farmers under the SDO scheme to also fight for their rights and claim the land which is rightfully theirs. Just contact to our local chapters and discuss how best to fight for our birthright,” said Ramos.

Meanwhile Rene “Ka Boyet” Galang, concurrent president of the United Luisita Worker’s Union (ULWU) and AMBALA said, “Our first action being the legal owners of Hacienda Luisita is to evict the military personnel from our lands. They cannot stay there any longer, because they have no right to be in the plantation in the first place. Our lives are always in peril when the military is around; they are the running dogs of the Cojuangcos and Palparan. We have won the strike and the land but we are still demanding justice for the victims of the massacre and the killings that followed,”

“By next year we still start the massive collective farming of the plantation to ensure that the 33,000 inhabitants of the hacienda would not go hungry again. We will ensure that our organization remains as the bastion of the rights and struggle of the people of Hacienda Luisita, because it is only through our organized strength and action that we were able to prevail,” ended Galang. # # #
 

KMP - 20 DEcember 2005