Gibo, Edu go to NPA-infested Mindoro

By Jaime Laude (The Philippine Star)  

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=560194&publicationSubCategoryId=63

SAN JOSE, Occidental Mindoro, Philippines – Administration presidential candidate Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro and his team made their presence felt by campaigning in rebel-infested areas here.

Teodoro, along with vice presidential candidate Edu Manzano, led the entourage in defying threats by the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in areas where just a few weeks ago 11 government troops were killed in an ambush staged by the rebel group.

The troops were waylaid when they were trying to prevent the NPA from implementing their permit to campaign on local candidates.

At the rally Teodoro said he would prioritize development programs for local government units if elected president.

He promised his leadership would determine the concerns of every community to effectively address their particular needs.

“The leader should be capable of understanding the needs of communities to effectively address their respective problems and then give the best solutions,” Teodoro said.

Noynoy ibinisto ng pinsan sa 'Luisita'

mula sa Pilipino Star Ngayon  

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=560152&publicationSubCategoryId=92
MANILA, Philippines - Kinuwestiyon ni Anak­pawis Rep. Rafael Mariano ang katotohanan sa mga sinabi ni Liberal Party pre­sidential ber Sen. Noynoy Aquino na ipamama­hagi niya sa 2014 sa mga mag­sasaka ang 6,000 hektarya ng kanilang lupain na saklaw ng agrarian reform na hinaharang ng kanilang pamilya sa Korte Suprema.

Ito’y matapos ilathala ng pahayagang New York Times sa United States ang pag-amin ng isang kamag-anak ni Noy­noy na hindi nila ipama­mahagi ang lupain sa mga magsasaka, taliwas sa ipinahayag ng pambato ng Liberal Party sa May 10 elections.

Sa panayam ni Carlos Conde, correspondent ng NYT sa Pilipinas, sinabi ni Fernando Cojuangco, pin­san ni Noynoy at chief operating officer ng holding company sa taniman ng tubo sa Luisita, na mala­bong isuko ng kanilang pamilya ang lupain na hawak nila mula pa noong 1958.

Bagaman kinontra ni Noynoy ang ulat sa NYT na posible umanong nagkamali lamang ang sumulat sa mga sinabi ng kanyang pinsan, nanindigan si Conde na tama at naka-record ang mga inihayag ni Fernando.

Sinabi ni Mariano na nagkamali si Noynoy sa gi­nawang pangako dahil hindi na nito malilinlang ang mga magsasaka na dapat sanang nakikinabang sa lupain.

Patuloy din umano ang paghahanap ng katarungan ng mga magsasaka na napaslang sa hacienda kabilang ang pitong nasawi sa welga noong 2004 at iba pang biktima ng asasinasyon pagkatapos nito. (Butch Quejada)

Villar allies slam Aquino over Hacienda Luisita

By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. (Philippine Daily Inquirer) 

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100317-259146/Villar-allies-slam-Aquino-over-Hacienda-Luisita

MANILA, Philippines—Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, the Liberal Party standard-bearer, came under fire Tuesday after his cousin was quoted in The New York Times article published March 14 as saying that the Cojuangco family would not give up Hacienda Luisita.

The distribution of all agricultural lands to farmers—over 1 million hectares in the most productive areas of the country that had not been distributed under the agrarian reform program in the past two decades—is mandated under a new law extending the program for five years and appropriating P150 billion for its implementation.
Hypocrisy, double-speak
Gilbert Remulla, spokesperson of Nacionalista Party presidential candidate Manny Villar, accused Aquino of “political double-speak” over the hacienda issue.
“Senator Aquino says in his latest political ads that he will continue the fight. I think he owes it to the Filipino people to first settle his family’s fight with the farmers and tenants of Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac,” said Remulla, also an NP senatorial candidate.
“It is hypocrisy and double-speak, plain and simple,” Remulla said.
“He can no longer evade the issue as he did all these months. For a presidential candidate who is supposedly running on a platform of change, the appalling conditions that pervade in his family’s hacienda and the continuing plight of the farmers and tenants there should be explained and not swept under the rug,” Remulla said.