The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) continues to provide assistance to Sacadas or migratory sugar workers recruited to work in Hacienda Luisita by Greenhand Labor Service Cooperative Agrikulto Inc., and Central Azucarera de Tarlac.

Based on reports given to the DSWD, some 1,000 Sacadas have been recruited to work in Hacienda Luisita since November 2016. Hundreds have reportedly escaped since then, but late in December, 70 were accounted for when these Sacadas sought the help of the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) which in turn asked assistance from the DSWD. These 70 have already been given assistance so they can return to their communities in Mindanao.

In the meantime, last week, 16 Sacadas and two children sought refuge in the DSWD Field Office in the National Capital Region (NCR) after escaping from Hacienda Luisita. They were referred to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for accommodation in the department’s covered basketball court.   The 18 came from different communities in Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Compostela Valley, and South Cotabato.

“The DSWD has made sure to provide assistance to the Sacadas who have been severely exploited and victimized by illegal recruiters and the management of Hacienda Luisita. They are also considered victims of human trafficking which is also a serious criminal offense.  On the whole, the stories of their lives and troubles as Sacadas are very troubling because of the extent of the injustice they have been subjected to. They were forced to endure modern-day slavery. They had to get up at 2:00am and work in the sugarcane fields cutting sugarcane and loading them on trucks. They worked in groups of 8 to 13 members, and they had a quota of 18 tons a day. That’s more than a ton for every Sacada,” DSWD Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said.

The Sacadas also presented proof of their salaries: they were promised P450 a day, but once they got to Hacienda Luisita, their salaries ranged from P80.01 to 269.52/week or only P11.43 to P38.50/day.  When they refused to work because of illness or exhaustion, they were denied food, and the cost of the provisions were deducted from their already measly salaries. The barracks where they made to live were guarded by armed security and padlocked from the outside at night.

Sec. Taguiwalo said that while the DAR and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) are already assisting the Sacadas when it comes to their labor rights issues on the one hand, and the ongoing land dispute over Hacienda Luisita on the other, the DSWD’s assistance to the Sacadas is primarily based on its mandate to uphold the immediate welfare of Filipinos in emergency or crisis situations.

“Thousands of families are being endangered because of this illegal recruitment scheme. Before they became Sacadas in Hacienda Luisita, most of the victims worked as small farmers. Because of the lies that they were fed about better work and better pay, they left their families, their livelihood, their homes and communities. Now those who showed courage and escaped their slavery in Hacienda Luisita are in a bad state of health after two months of eating canned food and almost rotten vegetables as regular meals. Some of the married menfolk have been left by their wives back home because they’ve been unable to send home money or even simply to maintain constant communication.  We should not countenance injustices like this and do nothing,” said Sec. Taguiwalo.

Through the Protective Services Bureau and its Crisis Intervention Unit (CIU), the DSWD has released Family Food Packs (FFP), clothes, malong, for the Sacadas. Preparations are also underway to provide them with fare assistance so they can return to their communities in Mindanao.

For the first group of sacadas numbering to 49 individuals, the DSWD NCR’s CIU released a total of P60,000 worth of FFPs and food assistance while on the road. While a total of P90,000  was also provided as transportation assistance to facilitate their return to Bukidnon. P5,000 worth of medical assistance was also provided to the sickly Sacadas.

For the latest group of Sacadas numbering 18 individuals, two among them women, and a 6-month old, and one toddler, the DSWD Central Office’s CIU provided 16 FFPs, 17 malongs, and some clothes immediately after receiving the report and request of the Sacadas through the UMA organization.

A few days after, transportation assistance which also includes food assistance while on the road amounting to P56,410.00 were extended to the 16 Sacadas. Medicine assistance amounting to P2,955.00 was also provided to four of the Sacadas needing medicine and vitamins as prescribed by the attending doctor from DOLE.

“We are always ready to provide our services and open our programs to those in need but these may not be enough. Coordination and cooperation between agencies yield better results for those in need of government services and interventions,” Sec. Taguiwalo said.

A family food pack consists of six kilos of rice, 8 canned goods of beef loaf or corned beef and sardines, and six packs of 3-in-1 coffee or energy drink. Each food pack costs P390, good for two days for a family of five. ###