OCTOBER 10, 2006

In behalf of the United Luisita Workers’ Union (ULWU) and the people of Hacienda Luisita we convey our most profound sense of loss to the passing of Bishop Alberto Ramento, 9th Supreme Bishop of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente and Bishop of the Poor Workers and Peasants.

We pay our highest tribute to a Man of God who stood among our ranks in flesh and in spirit as we fought for our rights as God’s suffering people and faced our enemies at the picket line during the Hacienda Luisita strike.

We express our deepest gratitude to Bishop Ramento, and all those who supported us in our difficult struggle for land, jobs and justice. Bishop Ramento is a martyr of the Filipino people and a hero of the people of Hacienda Luisita.

To his memory we offer our modest triumphs:

• We were able to prove that even the poorest of the poor can stand up and struggle against one of the most powerful families in the country and come out victorious
  
  
• We were able to stop the landlords’ greedy scheme to put us out of work, demolish our communities and drive us away from the land
  
  
• We were able to assert our rightful claim on the land and prevent the landlords from further using or dissipating it for their own selfish purposes
  
  
• Lastly, through the bungkalan, we are gradually transforming Hacienda Luisita from a sugar-producing feudal bastion into a verdant farm land that now produce rice, vegetables and other products for our people. Little by little, land reform is becoming a reality in the hacienda not because of the mercy or benevolence of the landlords or the government, but through our collective effort.

We were able achieve this not only because of our determination, but also because of the unflinching support of Bishop Ramento, and many others like him who chose to take cudgels for us in the face of great danger.

As we pay our final tribute to the beloved bishop, we express our strongest condemnation to the perpetrators and masterminds of his brutal killing.

We pledge to give justice to his untimely passing by carrying on what Bishop Ramento lived and died for: a country where the workers, peasants and other oppressed people live in prosperity, justice and freedom.

Reference:
RENE GALANG, President
United Luisita Workers’ Union
Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac City
CP No. 0918-572-7102