Luisita workers to reject Aquino kin, allies in May polls

Majority of the farm workers of Hacienda Luisita Inc., owned by the family of President Benigno Aquino III, will not support the candidacies of presidential cousin Bam Aquino and presidential aunt Margarita Cojuangco in the May 13 midterm elections.

"For us, the two pro- Aquino and pro-HLI senatorial wannabes constitute the emerging Aquino political dynasty which is primed to preserve the Aquino’s illegitimate, immoral and brutal occupancy of the sugar-estate that rightfully belongs to farm workers," Lito Bais, chairperson of the Luisita based Unyon ng Mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura and spokesperson of Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita said.

Bais cited that the Hacienda Luisita has more than 30,000 voters.

"We hope we can convince 80 percent to 90 percent of the farworkers to reject the senatorial ambition of Bam, Tingting and other Aquino lackeys like Risa Hontiveros of Liberal Party," he added.

He said, however, that most of the farm workers will support the candidacy of independent senatorial bet Teddy Casiño and other progressive party-list like Anakpawis.

"The rejection of Bam, Tingting and other cohorts of Aquino at the electoral box-office come May 2013 elections is a political necessity to keep the fight for land and justice going," Bais said.

Bais and other peasant leaders from Anakpawis partylist, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and Alyansa ng Magbubukid ng Gitnang Luzon led 300 farm workers in Hacienda Luisita in a four-day march from Tarlac to Manila starting April 24.

The groups have demanded the free, unconditional and urgent distribution of nearly 5,000 hectares of Hacienda Luisita to farmworkers and ask immediate payment of P1.33 billion representing farmworkers’ share on the proceeds of sale of parcels land since 1990.