Farmers, advocates commemorate 20th anniversary of Hacienda Luisita massacre

Metro Manila, Philippines — Farmers and advocates are commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Hacienda Luisita massacre in Tarlac on Saturday, Nov. 16.

Several groups gathered in the province to remember the historic protest that took the lives of seven agricultural workers.

“Walang saysay gunitain ang sakripisyo ng pitong martir ng welga’t masaker kung hindi natin ipagpapatuloy ang kanilang ipinaglaban — disenteng trabaho, nakabubuhay na sahod, at higit sa lahat, lupa sa magsasaka,” Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura national chairperson Ariel Casilao said in a statement.

[Translation: There is no sense in commemorating the sacrifices of the seven martyrs of the protest and massacre if we will not continue what they fought for – decent jobs, livable wages, and most of all, land for farmers.]

“It is a political necessity to strengthen the broad alliance of peasants, farmworkers, and the people of Hacienda Luisita to end landlord control over the land and to finally achieve genuine land reform,” the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said in a separate statement.

According to KMP, landlords and corporations took back lands supposedly redistributed to farmers.

The group noted that farmers and farmworkers continue to fight for land reform after two decades of struggle.

On Nov. 6, 2004, thousands of agri-workers and residents in Hacienda Luisita protested the low wages and joblessness. On their 10th day of strike, tear gas, water cannons, and guns were used to disperse the protesters, leading to the death of seven individuals.