Six farmers’ houses in Barangay Central, Tarlac City, inside Hacienda Luisita, were demolished yesterday, August 12, by personnel of what the farmers called the “Luisita warlord trio” which includes the Lorenzo, Cojuangco and Ayala families. Hundreds of residents were evicted from the barangay to make way for the ₱18 billion project of Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) that will occupy 290 hectares of land.

The “Luisita warlord trio” plans to evict about 989 families for the Cresendo project, the 29th estate of the Ayalas. The Ayalas plan to fill it with housing, plazas, commercial buildings, and more, destroying farming communities and their livelihoods.

At exactly 4 a.m. on the day of the demolition, more than 100 personnel of the Winace Security Agency, of the Lorenzo and Cojuangco families of the Central Azucarera de Tarlac (CAT) stormed the barangay with their buses. They rushed to the towns of Obrero, Zit, and Lote and began demolishing houses while residents were still sleeping. The farmers said the thugs had no court orders or papers.

Residents who stood their ground stopped the demolition and, with the help of the barangay officials, successfully drove the mercenary thugs from the community. However, eight houses have already been destroyed.

“Residents knew that, in the long term, the Luisita warlord trio intended for all households in the area to be demolished in time for a new residential, commercial, and what passed for an industrial development in the area,” the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) said.

Residents said the threat of eviction in Barangay Central began in 2019 when CAT sold the barangay’s land to the Ayalas. Families residing in the barangay were each sent a “Notice to Vacate.” Approximately 276 citizens were charged with criminal offenses to intimidate them into leaving.

The Luisita warlord trio thugs have also reportedly set up tents and checkpoints at the entrances and exits of Barangay Central since June 15. They also suppressed and harassed the residents, with the help of the CAFGU personnel stationed in a nearby detachment and soldiers of the 31st Company of the 3rd Mechanized IB who were stationed near the area.

Butchers and thugs banned the entry of construction materials that people needed during rainy season to fortify their houses. Barangay officials have been prohibited from importing materials even for official local government projects. Water service connections to the barangay have also been cut.

The Luisita warlord trio blatantly ignored even the resolution of the Tarlac City Council on July 20 ordering the removal of the checkpoints. Barangay Central residents asserted that many residents who are being evicted were already living in the said barangay even before the Cojuangco-Aquinos and the Lorenzos entered Hacienda Luisita.

“The Luisita warlord trio’s oppression may have been normalized, but peasants will not tolerate it. The landgrabbers may have the guns, but the farmers and agricultural workers have the numbers. And when oppressed masses rise up, oppressors will have to answer,” Ka Ariel Casilao, UMA spokesperson emphasized.