Bishop warns of unrest over Hacienda Luisita row

MANILA, July 8, 2011-The Aquino government could face a turbulent time of domestic unrest and challenges if it will remain silent on the disputed Hacienda Luisita, a Catholic bishop said. 

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo gave the toughly worded warning Friday and called on President Benigno Aquino III to act on the issue based on what is just and lawful.

“Rural unrest could break out in the absence of genuine implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program with extension and reform (CARPer) Law,” Pabillo said in a press conference.

“He, and his advisers, should also bear in mind that the issue of land lies at the heart of the current peace process,” he said.

Pabillo said there is no room for neutrality when agrarian reform is concerned and when what is at stake is the plight of the farmers.

He challenged Aquino to prove his sincerity for the poor by siding with the farmers of Hacienda Luisita, a 6,453-hectare sugar plantation in Tarlac owned by the family the president’s family.

“We call on President Aquino’s leadership to seize the chance presented by the tragic SC ruling. As Chief Executive, he cannot continue washing his hands on this issue,” Pabillo said.

Pabillo, head of the National Secretariat for Social Action of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, stressed that land distribution is “the only path” towards justice and economic sustainability.

Pabillo said that as chief executive, Aquino cannot continue “washing his hands” on the issue.

“What kind of presidency does he hope to offer this country if he cannot even make his own family relinquish its stranglehold on properties that in the first place were acquired through government resources?” he said.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court (SC) revoked the stock distribution option (SDO) first offered by the Hacienda Luisita, Inc. (HLI) management.

Under the SDO, farm workers were given the option to acquire shares of stocks instead of gaining land ownerships.

The high court, however, ordered the Department of Agrarian Reform to hold another referendum among farm-workers to determine their choice between stocks or parcels of land.

The issue now lies in Aquino’s hands, according to Pabillo.

He said it is well within Aquino’s power to order DAR to distribute the land according to the spirit and conditions of the agrarian reform law.

“The integrity of his social contract is clouded in doubts and mistrust until he finally learns to give precedence to the poor through social justice,” he said. (CBCPNews)