Photos and text by MARIO ESPINOSA
TO mark the anniversary of the bloody Mendiola Massacre, hundreds of farmers last Friday burned the effigy of President Benigno Aquino III as they marched along the streets of Mendiola.
Farmers, survivors and their relatives, leftist groups, and students demanded for the reinvestigation of the massacre that happened on January 21, 1987.
The killings happened when the president’s mother, the late Corazon Aquino, was just eleven months into her presidency, less than a year after the restoration of democracy. Over 10,000 farmers marched towards the Malacanang Palace to demand genuine land reform. But the lines were breached, leading to the death of 13 peasants.
The farmers’ P6.5-million class suit was dismissed by the court and the decision was upheld by the Supreme Court. In 1987, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law was passed. But to this day, many farmers have yet to own their land.
Since his election, President Aquino has been pressured to give the farmers their due share in Hacienda Luisita, a huge plantation owned by his relatives, the Cojuangco family. But the president has since adopted a “hands-off” policy on the controversy.
“Makibaka para sa tunay na reporma sa lupa! (Fight for true genuine land reform!)”, cried the ralliers.
Protesters started the day by camping out in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), where they cooked their meals and the leaders held a ritual dance before heading to the Supreme Court. They held a program at the Department of Justice where representatives of Gabriela, Kilusang Magsasaka ng Pilipinas, and Anak Pawis spoke before the crowd.
After that, the group marched to Mendiola Street and burned the president’s effigy.
