MANILA, Philippines - Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the other day that she would look into complaints by farmers at Hacienda Luisita, the sugar estate owned by President Aquino’s family in Tarlac, of alleged abuses by military personnel in their communities.
Heeding a call for investigation by groups led by the Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala), De Lima said she would first verify allegations of harassment, surveillance and vilification and the burning of houses supposedly involving troops in 10 barangays in Hacienda Luisita.
“Let me do first a preliminary verification of that report. If warranted and should there be a formal request, I will consider a probe,” she said in a text message.
De Lima was responding to the reported appeal of Ambala, which cited findings of a fact-finding mission conducted by its mother organization, the Unyon ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (UMA), along with human rights groups Karapatan, Promotion of Church People’s Response, and the Luisita Peasant and People’s Alliance.
The farmers’ and militant groups believe that De Lima is capable of helping them, citing her background as head of the Commission on Human Rights who fought abuses of the military.
They said the “de facto martial law inside the farm workers’ community was architected to defy the courts’ November 22 decision ordering the 4,900 hectares distributed to land reform beneficiaries by deceiving the farm workers that they are one with the people.”
The military though is open to a probe on the presence of soldiers in Hacienda Luisita, even as it insisted that it would not pull out its troops in the estate.
Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman, said the other day they are ready to act on any complaint against soldiers accused of wrongdoings.
“We are always open to any investigation. We are not hiding anything. If there are complaints about the behavior of the military there (in Hacienda Luisita), they should lodge their complaint to the proper forum,” he said.
The AFP, however, has no plans to pull out its troops from the hacienda, saying such a move would only benefit bad elements and communist rebels.
“Our troops are there to prevent the resurgence (of insurgency). The troops are there to ensure the safety and security of people in the province,” Burgos said.
Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres Jr., commander of the Army’s 3rd Mechanized Battalion, said “several” rebels are from Tarlac, where the hacienda is located.
“Based on history, there are several cadres (rebels) that are from the area. We all know that some of the founders of the NPA (New People’s Army) are from Tarlac,” Torres said.
He said soldiers from the 69th, 48th, and 7th infantry battalions have been stationed in Hacienda Luisita since 2002. – With Alexis Romero, Ding Cervantes
