FINAL REPORT - Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

Mr. Galang explained that the violent dispersal and bloody massacre did not
put an end to the gross violations of the rights of the striking workers, their families
and supporters. On the contrary, the Cojuangco-Aquino family -- in conspiracy with
the military and police authorities and utilizing paramilitary groups such as the
Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGU) and other hired agents/gunmen --
has continued to harass and threaten as well as abuse the rights of the hacienda
workers and their families.
On the night of 8 December 2004, Marcelino Beltran, a key witness to the
massacre was brutally murdered in his home in a remote village in Tarlac.
On the night of 5 January 2005, hacienda workers George Loveland and
Ernesto Ramos were seriously injured when still unidentified armed bodyguards of
Rep. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino attacked them and other striking workers manning the
picket line outside the Las Haciendas gate of Hacienda Luisita.
On 3 March 2005, Abelardo Ladera, a duly-elected councilor of Tarlac City, a
member of Bayan Muna and a staunch supporter of the Hacienda Luisita strike, was
felled by a single gunshot to the chest while he was buying some spare parts for his
vehicle.
On 13 March 2005, Fr. William Tadena of the Iglesia Filipinas Independiente
(Philippine Independence Church) and also a strong supporter of the strike, was
likewise gunned down after officiating mass in Tarlac.
Another peasant strongly supporting the strikers, Victor Concepcion, was
likewise summarily executed in his house.
More recently, on the night of 25 October 2005, while resting in a hut near his
house and after personally distributing the unpaid earned wages and benefits of the
sugar mill workers, Ricardo Ramos, president of CATLU and village chairman of Brgy.
Mapalacsiao, Tarlac City, was also brutally gunned down.
Villages in the hacienda have become heavily militarized. Many villagers have
complained of being subjected to illegal arrest and harassment. Others, unjustly
accused of being New People’s Army (NPA) members are being forced to admit such
allegations by the military and thereafter sign government documents stating they are
rebel returnees.
The more recent harassment committed by the military was at 2 a.m. of 14
November 2005. Strikers manning the picket point in Brgy. Balete were mauled and
seized by elements of the 48 th Infantry Battalion under the command of Maj. Gen.
Jovito Palparan who is chief of the 7 th Infantry Division. Eleven of the strikers were
illegally and forcibly taken to a “safe house” where they were interrogated. Three of
them were subsequently charged with illegal possession of firearms on the basis of
planted evidence.
Mr. Galang called attention to the fact that he himself and his family are being
principally targeted by the military and the police. He pointed out that several
elements of the military have virtually maintained a detachment in a house just across
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