PRESS RELEASE I July 8, 2011
QUEZON CITY, Philippines--Urban poor group Kadamay questions the Aquino’s sincerity in dealing with the hunger crisis as the president remains silent on Tuesday's decision of the Supreme Court hindering the distribution of Hacienda Luisita lands of the Aquino-Cojuangco clan in Tarlac.
According to the group, Aquino's preferred silence on the issue condones landlordism in the countryside, and shows his lack of concern in facing the problem of landlessness and land reform.
"As simple as grade school mathematics can explain how landlessness drives hunger. Before the farmers and milling workers benefitted from their triumphant 2004 strike against the Cojuangco, their P9.50 weekly wage from the management of Central Azucarera de Tarlac barely made ends meet for the farm workers' family,” says Leona Zarsuela, urban poor group leader.
Recent SWS survey has revealed a dubious decline in the incidence of hunger particularly in Luzon, which the administration attributed to its Conditional Cash Transfer program, its dole-out solution to poverty.
“How will the farmers of Hacienda Luisita break away from poverty and starvation when their only means of survival will be taken away by the government,” adds Zarsuela. “This will send a clear signal to every hungry Filipino of Aquino’s insensitivity to the agony of his countrymen.”
The group calls for the immediate and unconditional distribution of land to the 10,000 farm worker beneficiaries of Hacienda Luisita. “10,000 families who would have sufficient food on their table is a big cutback to the 3.0 million families experiencing involuntary hunger in the country,” Zarsuela ends.
Reference: Leona Zarsuela, Kadamay National Chair | 09126490392
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