IN FOCUS

Emy Ladera-Facunla. Continuing the mission of brother Abel Ladera, killed in October 2005 at the height of the Hacienda Luisita strike.

TARLAC CITY -- Emy Ladera-Facunla, sister of slain Tarlac city councilor Abelardo Ladera went up the back of the truck that served as a makeshift stage as the crowd of workers and their families cheered.

The day is May 1, and Ladera, 41, a candidate for city councilor joined some 500 workers in commemorating Labor Day at the Luisita Park across the highway from Camp Servillano Aquino, the headquarters of the Northern Luzon Command.

“Wala akong ambisyong maging pulitiko. Nais ko lamang ipagpatuloy ang nasimulan ng aking kapatid at hindi mawalang saysay ang kanyang pagkamatay” [I have no ambition of being a politician. I only want to continue what may brother has started and give meaning to his death], Ladera said in her speech.

Despite the summer noon time heat, the crowd appeared relaxed as they rested under the shade of giant acacia trees. Many of them came from Hacienda Luisita, where the Ladera family also reside in Barangay Balite, one of the 10 villages comprising the Cojuangco-owned sugar plantation.

After a lunch of rice, boiled eggs and tomatoes packed in plastic bags, the workers boarded some 30 jeepneys and rode off in a caravan to the city center some five kilometers away.

Emy is a crowd favorite. In her campaign sorties, people will wait for her turn to speak and hug and kiss her as they pledged their support to her candidacy. They tell her a simple message: they want the return of the kind of service her late brother has shown and supporting her is their own way of giving justice to his death.

Abelardo Ladera was felled by an assassin on October 3, 2005 during the height of the strike of the plantation and sugar mill workers in Hacienda Luisita. The killing of Ladera is widely believed here as a result of his unflinching support to the striking workers.

Campaign issue

The issue of land distribution at the 6,000-ha. sugar plantation has also become a campaign issue here in the home province of former president Corazon Cojuangc-Aquino.

Aquino’s older brother, former congressman Jose ‘Peping’ Cojungco Jr. is running for governor against Victor Yap, the son of incumbent governor Jose Yap who is running for congress in the province’s second district.

The Asembliya ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita [AMBALA, Assembly of farm workers in Hacienda Luisita] issued a statement saying that if Cojuangco wins and becomes governor their demand for land distribution will be endangered.

“Kung uupo sa poder ang sinuman sa angkan, tiyak na gagamitin nila ang posisyon upang ipagkait sa atin ang lupa at ibayong magwasiwas ng kapangyarihan sa asyenda. Hindi tayo papayag na mangyari ito,” [If anyone from the [Cojuangco] clan will assume office, they will use their position to deprive us of the land and flaunt power in the hacienda. We will not allow this to happen], AMBALA said in a statement dated April 20.

Thousands of copies of the statement are being distributed not only in the hacienda but all over the province, AMBALA leaders told GLNS.

The Department of Agrarian Reform has ordered the distribution of land in the hacienda to the farm workers when the 13-month long strike ended on December 2005. But the Cojuangco family obtained a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court that temporarily blocked land distribution.

Cojuangco dynasty

Politics in Tarlac province is historically dominated by two lineages of the Cojuangco family: that of former president Aquino and that of her cousin Eduardo ‘Danding’ Cojuangco Jr. They hold sway in the south and northern parts of the province, respectively.

Yap is allied with Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. Monica Lousie, the wife of incumbent 1st district representative Gilbert Teodoro is running for congress in the district to replace her husband. Teodoro is a nephew of Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.

Herminio Aquino, uncle of former president Aquino is running for congress in the 3rd district.

At the moment, the bloc of Danding Cojuangco, a known ally of ousted president Marcos, appear to have a stronger hold in local politics, through incumbent governor Jose Yap. The gubernatorial race between Yap’s son and Jose ‘Peping’ Cojungco Jr. is perceived to be a ‘battle royale.’

People’s issues

Ladera, who is running under the slate of Yap, hopes that people’s issues will be a major campaign focus in the run-up to the May 14 elections.

“People are tired of hollow promises offered by politicians. They want to hear what candidates have to say on issues that affect them like wages, land, poverty and human rights,” Ladera told GLNS.

Ladera is campaigning for the Gabriela Women’s Party. Her main constituency are the supporters of progressive party list organizations. In the 2001 and 2004 elections, Bayan Muna emerged number 1 in the whole province.

“As a resident of Hacienda Luisita, I fully support the clamor of the people for land distribution as one of my campaign platforms,’ Ladera said.