THE Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas on Thursday said migratory sugarcane harvest farmworkers or sacadas from Bukidnon are waiting to be rescued from Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac, owned by the Cojuangcos and the Aquinos.
“They are victims of human trafficking and exploitative labor practices in Central Azucarera de Tarlac and Hacienda Luisita perpetrated by the Cojuangco-Aquino clan and the Lorenzos,” said KMP in a statement.
The KMP said the the sacadas who are members of the Organisasyon sa Yanong Obrerong Nagkahiusa, and residents of Pangantukan, Bukidnon were recruited last November by South Cotabato-based labor contractor Greenhand Labor Service Cooperative to render services to Agrikulto Inc., a private company engaged in sugarcane farming.
There was no immediate reaction from the Cojuangco-Aquinos nor the Lorenzos.
KMP has said the Agrikulto Inc. is a subsidiary of Central Azucarera de Tarlac. Among members of its board of directors is Cojuangco scion Jose ‘Peping’ Cojuangco Jr.
The Lorenzo family of Lapanday banana plantation are majority shareholders of Central Azucarera de Tarlac, the labor group said.
According to the KMP, the sacadas who came all the way from Barandias, Bismin, Mendez, Adtuyon and Poblacion villages in Pangantukan, Bukidnon were promised by their recruiters P220 per ton with free meals and lodging and better working conditions.
The recruiters paid each sacada family P7,000 in cash advance and loaned P3,400 to each sacada for their fare from Bukidnon to Tarlac.
The contractor made the sacadas sign an agreement obliging them to pay P10,400 to Greenhand Labor Services by February 2017.
Due to the “dead season” or “tiempo muertos” in sugarcane farms, the sacadas were deceived and forced to accept the employment.
The ordeal of the sacadas started upon their arrival at Hacienda Luisita.
The KMP claimed the contractor Greenland Labor Services reneged on the agreed terms of employment and imposed slave-like wages and unfair labor practices on the sacadas.
The sacadas were offered a pakyaw rate (group rate) of P250 per ton of cut and hauled sugarcane.
The rate is based on a quota of 18 tons per day for a group of 10 sacadas. This rate is in violation of the daily wage rate of P319 (plantation, agricultural) in Region 3.
The sacadas are forced to work for 13 hours daily from 4 a.m. to 5 p.m.
They did not receive the wages and benefits promised to them.
According to sacada Rosalito Bravo, they escaped from Hacienda Luisita because of the inhumane working conditions.
Another sacada, Rudy Mando said they were not treated fairly in Hacienda Luisita.
The sacadas complained it was physically impossible even for a 10-man team to cut and haul 18 tons of sugarcane in a day.
