By Len Espinosa
, Central Luzon Bureau
TARLAC CITY—Less than 24 hours after the
bloodiest strike dispersal in Central Luzon, workers of the sugar
mill owned by the family of former President Corazon Aquino marched
to the Plazuela in front of the city hall here bearing the coffins
of some of the 14 hacienda hands who were killed by soldiers and
riot policemen on Tuesday.
Shouting invectives at the Cojuangco family that
owns the Hacienda Luisita sugar estate and Labor Secretary Patricia
Sto. Tomas, hundreds of hacienda workers marched to the city square
at high noon bearing the coffins of Jhaivie Basilio, Jess Valdez,
John David and Jesus Laza, all workers of the Hacienda Luisita and
the Central Azucarera de Tarlac.
Leaders of the United Luisita Workers’ Union
and CAT Labor Union said they plan to hold a common wake for the
four casualties with the 10 others who were killed in the violent
strike dispersal that also injured scores of others.
Union leaders were arranging to transfer the
coffins of Juancho Sanchez, Jimmy Pastidio, Boy Versola, Neng Manalo,
Adriano Cabalero, a certain Sosa, two babies and two other
unidentified dead to the city square, but they have not agreed with
the victims’ families who want to grieve for their loved ones in
private.
While militant union members continued to
lambaste the hacienda management and the Department of Labor and
Employment during the wake, the speeches were interspersed with
somber silence as the hacienda hands pondered their loss and their
future.
“Reassess muna kami kasi mukhang pumapasok ang
Congress,” said one union leader, referring to the visit of
party-list Representatives Satur Ocampo of Bayan Muna, Joel Virador
of Bayan Muna, Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis and Liza Maza of
Gabriela, who went to Hacienda Luisita to investigate the violent
dispersal.
The union leaders have no immediate plans,
because they still have to attend to the burial of those who were
killed as well as legal representation for the 116 who were arrested
at the dispersal and are now facing charges.
Moreover, the whispered conversations at the
Plazuela focused not so much on the politicians as on what happened
during the dispersal, which appeared to have changed the mood of the
workers despite the half-bold speeches.
Foremost in the conversations were the questions
why the DOLE assumed jurisdiction over the strike when it was about
to be resolved by labor conciliators in San Fernando, Pampanga, on
Friday and why the military had to be involved in the dispersal.
The death toll is still expected to rise, union
leaders said, because many workers who suffered gunshot wounds
during the dispersal were still being treated at hospitals in
the city. They said eight people have been reported missing since
the riot broke out.
It was past 3 p.m. on Tuesday when the 4,000
protesters were dispersed with water cannon and tear gas by military
and police. Hundreds were injured including government personnel due
to the warning shots that were fired by the Civil Disturbance
Management units of the PNP.
However, Col. Preme Monta, spokesman for the
Armed Forces’ Northern Luzon Command, insisted that the gunshots
were first fired by the workers and not the CDM.
“Our frontline men were only bearing
truncheons and shields, and security forces were at the back of the
organized troops, so there is no way the police and military could
have initiated the shots,” Monta explained.
But Ocampo and the other congressmen found
dozens of spent shells of 5.56mm bullets used for the M-16 rifles
that are issued to the military and the police.
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