Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Aulmo BSN 3A1 Reaction Paper: Hacienda Luisita I have read from Wikipedia that Hacienda Luisita is a 6,435hectare plantation estate located in Tarlac, Philippines, owned by the Cojuangco family. It spans various towns in the province. The hacienda is primarily within the 2nd District and 1st District of Tarlac.The estate is as large as the cities of Makati and Pasig combined. How big is that? It passed through the Spanish era, American period, Japanese regime and even used by Mc Arthur as headquarters and finally, purchased by Pepe Cojuangco. The Spanish owners was pushed to sell the hacienda because of the rebellion of the Hukbalahap. But then, Ramon Magsaysay blocked the selling of the Hacienda to the Lopezes because it will only make them more powerful. So Magsaysay offered the land to Jose Cojuangco or Pepe. He purchased it through a loan from the GSIS and a dollar loan from the Manufacturers Trust Company of New York, which was guaranteed by the Central Bank of the Philippines and he anaegd the land with the help of the late Ninoy Aquino. I dont know if I am correct, but in my own understanding, they used the money of he Philippines to purchase the land. So to make the story short, technically, it belongs to the people. There are 5,339 workers of Hacienda Luisita that are still waiting for the land that they are asking. There are two President Cojuangcos but they seemed to ignore these poor men. They have rights on those lands. In the article The Hacienda Luisita swindle, it revealed what the Cojuangcos did and how they used their power to keep the land that they are claiming. It seems like that they are that greedy of their wealth. It is a huge land and I think it wouldnt count if they will give half of it to their workers who also gave their blood and sweat to improve and maintain that hacienda. I dont think that there has to be 12 farmers and two more children shall die because of this land.