PAMPANGA, Philippines – Fredie Laurente, 69, has spent his entire life in Barangay Central in Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac City, where his family and forebearers have lived since 1925. Alongside 987 other families who worked for the Central Azucarera de Tarlac (CAT), they are faced with an imminent threat after a demolition last August 12.
“Walang aalis. Hindi naman kami squatters. Manggagawa kami ng CAT,” Laurente told Rappler in an interview on August 15.
(No one is leaving. We are not squatters. We are workers at the CAT.)
Barangay Central is owned by CAT, according to Tarlac City Administrator Joselito Castro. He said all affected residents are part of a barangay which covers around 30 hectares, half of which are farmlands.
“Lahat ng residents na yan, isang buong barangay siya talaga. Kasi yung buong barangay is owned by the CAT. Used to be, yung anong yan is, sa housing ng mga nagtatrabaho sa Central,” Joselito Castro told Rappler in an interview on Monday, August 19. “So, nasa 30 hectares ata yan including the farmland so yung houses nasa 15 hectares ata.”
(All those residents, it is really an entire village. Because the entire village is owned by the CAT. It used to be a housing of those who work at Central. So that’s 30 hectares, I think, including the farmlands. So the houses are around 15 hectares, I think.)
CAT is a sugar manufacturing plant that produces alcohol, carbon dioxide, and yeast. It owns a 100% stake in Luisita Land Corporation (LLC), a domestic company involved in developing, leasing, and selling real estate, as well as providing ancillary services, based on its company information posted on the Philippine Stock Exchange. Through LLC, the CAT manages property, water distribution, and wastewater treatment services for locators at Luisita Industrial Park and residents of Hacienda Luisita.
Efforts to contact CAT through its external legal counsel, Addison Castro, via email were unsuccessful as the email address appears to have been deactivated. Our calls likewise went unanswered. Rappler also visited the CAT office in Manila. However, they did not entertain our request for an interview. We will update this story once we receive their reply.
Barrio Central
According to Laurente, the CAT was built in 1925 and began operating three years later. Some markers in the mill indicate its historic significance. The accompanying infrastructure was built “in good faith” for the welfare of the workers, including their housing, a hospital, a chapel, an elementary school, and a water system, he said.
Laurente belongs to a third-generation of factory workers in their family. He began his career in 1980 and dedicated 36 years to the sugar mill as a clerk checker and off-milling welder before retiring in 2014.
Barangay Central, then a barrio, comprises five sitios: Obrero, Camarin, Zit, Lote, and Alto. The five sitios, Laurente said, were built for the welfare of all: factory workers, owners, managers, and rank-and-file employees. They have also not paid any real property tax, he added.
“Because back then, they looked after the welfare of their workers. Free electricity, water, hospitalization, and housing,” Laurente said.
Just before dawn on August 12, a demolition team began tearing down homes in Sitio Obrero without the residents’ consent, damaging eight houses, two of which were demolished completely.
Barangay Central’s chairman Jake Torres said the land was allegedly sold to Ayala Corporation for Cresendo, a multi-use land development plan which features commercial, recreational, and residential areas.
In February 2019, Torres said all residents received a notice to vacate within 30 days. Nine months later, 51 of them, including him, received a writ of demolition notice. Although there was an initial offer for relocation in 2019, Torres said it was unacceptable and it has since been withdrawn.
“Ang pinaguusapan dito 900 residential houses mahigit, within four sitios. Hindi ilan-ilan lang na bahay ang pinapaalis nila – isang barangay ng Barangay Central. Kaya po ang nangyari hindi aalis ang mga tao na ganun-ganun nalang,” Torres, whose family has been living in the village for about 75 years, said.
(We are talking about more than 900 residential houses, within four sitios. They are not evicting just a few houses — it’s the entire village of Barangay Central. That’s what happened, people won’t leave just like that.)
No demolition permit?
Joselito Castro said there was no demolition permit, court order, or writ of execution presented to the occupants of the demolished houses. He said the city government’s engineering office has no record of any request from either Ayala Corporation, Cresendo, or the CAT for a demolition permit, based on available information.
“The only documents the demolition team presented were the ‘Paunawa’ leaflets giving notice that CAT will be conducting demolition of allegedly abandoned houses,” the city administrator said.
Joselito Castro said the families have filed a criminal complaint with the city legal office against the demolition team. Of the 988 households involved, only 276 had ejectment cases with 51 having writs of execution issued by the court and one case under appeal.
Tarlac City Mayor Cristy Angeles also directed CAT to stop any extra-judicial demolition activities citing the possible risk of violence to which CAT has also agreed, Joselito Castro said.
The mayor also requested the Philippine National Police to increase its presence in the area to prevent untoward incidents.
‘Deadlock’
Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA)-Federation of Agricultural Workers said the demolition was carried out without proper and legal documentation, prior notice, or approval from barangay officials.
UMA chairperson Ariel Casilao said demolitions should follow due process. Any physical eviction should come from relevant authorities, including the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the local government, and a court.
Casilao described the situation as a “deadlock.” He said that threats and deployment of demolition teams ma lead to violent confrontations.
Casilao added that while organized communities are able to stand up and assert their rights, they often face red-tagging and accusations of communist influence, which are used to justify broader attacks or militarization.
“Deadlock yan ngayon kasi hindi naman humihinto yung may-ari na nananakot, nagpapadala ng truckload ng demolition teams tapos yung mga tao diyan nanindigan na, we fear na baka maulit yung tipong violent confrontation,” Casilao said.
(It’s a deadlock now because the owner won’t stop threatening. They sent a truckload of demolition teams but the people stood their ground. We fear that this type of violent confrontation might happen again.)
Casilao said intimidation is an old practice by “feudal lords.” It can be an effective way to evict residents if done quickly through goons, private army, as well as the police and military who may side with those who claim to be the owner of the land. However, organized communities know the legal process, their rights and are asserting them, Casilao said.
“It’s an old practice but still effective. And when the (residents) fight, that’s where red-tagging comes in, tagging the community as communists influenced by the New Peoples Army to justify a broader violent attack or militarization,” he added. – Rappler.com