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| Former President Cory Aquino photo from Philstar (ctto) |
President Rodrigo Duterte on
Friday evening lambasted former President Cory Aquino for declaring agrarian
reform in the Philippines but exempting Hacienda Luisita, owned by the
Cojuancos, her family estate, from land distribution.
This chief executive raised an argument on Friday night as
he tried to recall a huge contradiction in Aquino, the democracy icon who imposed
the comprehensive agrarian reform program and yet spared Hacienda Luisita, a
day after her 10th death anniversary.
“Cory Aquino may be
popular, she is popular today. Why? For losing the husband at the hands of Mr.
Marcos,” he added.
“Aquino declared land reform for the entire Philippines but
exempted [Hacienda] Luisita. Her own land,” the
President said during the Mindanao-wide ceremonial distribution of land
certificates to agrarian reform beneficiaries in Davao City.
“When she said, I would like to declare land reform in all
of the Philippines, hindi niya sinali ang sa kanya. She exempted her own. So
you call her, the one who freed, emancipated. It’s incongruity, si Cory,” Duterte
added.
However, the President recognized though that many Filipinos
were grateful for Aquino’s contribution to regaining the country’s democracy
after the Marcos regime.
“To the many, to those who really wanted to be freed from
Marcos, that’s another feeling, maybe of gratitude,” Duterte said.
The comprehensive agrarian reform law was signed by Aquino
in 1988. The law aimed to grant landless farmers and farm workers ownership of
around 7.8 million hectares of agricultural lands.
In 2012, the Supreme Court ordered the distribution of
Hacienda Luisita’s 4,915-hectare agricultural lands to the original 6,296
beneficiaries.
Last year, the court ruled the Cojuangco-owned estate had
already complied with its order to distribute unused funds from the land sale
proceeds.
The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) committed to
continue to distribute portions of the Luisita estate to farmers.
Source: Politiko
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