At long last, the farmers of
Hacienda Luisita will be receiving their land after the Department of Agrarian
Reform (DAR) started distributing more than 4,000 hectares of farmland a few
days ago. More than 6,012 farmer/ beneficiaries will be given 6,650 square
meters of land. The farmers cannot sell their farmland for at least 30 years so
as to prevent them for transferring the ownership of the land to anyone. The
land is not given for free, the farmers will pay for it in small amounts and
after full payment the DAR will give them their land titles.
For
many of the farmers, this is a long awaited dream; to have a land that they can
till as their own. Hacienda Luisita is owned by the family of Pres. Noynoy
Aquino, located in the province of Tarlac. It is a vast farmland and the
Cojuangco clan have tried to avoid the giving out of the land to the farmers
who have toiled it for so many years. The Cojuangco’s have created golf
courses, subdivisions, industrial parks, etc. just to evade the Department of
Agriculture (DAR) previous decision to distribute it to it the farmers but now the
time has finally arrived.
Hopefully,
the farmers/beneficiaries will be able to develop and maintain their own land.
The Government must still provide the farmers with proper training and skills
to assure good crops. The Administration should also extend financial
assistance to these farmers to help them get started in developing and
cultivating their own land. Otherwise, if left alone and on their own; these
farmers may end up selling back their land to the Cojuangco’s at a very, very cheap
price.
I
salute the President for finally allowing the distribution of Hacienda Luisita
to the rightful beneficiaries, maybe Pres. Noynoy Aquino is really serious
about honesty and sincerity in Government. Let’s us all wait and see…..
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