Farm Workers Seeking Help of Sec. Tiu Laurel vs Hacienda Owner

Several farm workers from Hacienda Lolita in Barangay Luna, Cadiz City are seeking the help of Agriculture Sec. Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on what they called “unfair labor practices” and “human rights violations” allegedly committed by hacienda owner Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama Jr.

In a letter addressed to Sec. Tiu Laurel dated July 15, 2026, signed by 29 farm workers, the latter said they are appealing for the former’s help and for the intervention of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).

In the letter written in the local dialect, the farm workers alleged that they were being paid below minimum wage, denied 13th‑month pay and benefits, excluded from their carabao share, and kept from receiving their 3 percent entitlement under the Sugar Amelioration Bonus. They also claimed they were barred from forming or joining a labor union.

“Ang pila ka dekada nga pagpangabudlay sa pagkali sang duta kag pagpalambu sang katubuhan ni Valderrama, ginbalusan kami sang pagdingot kag paglapas sang amon tawhanon nga kinamatarong… Kami ang nagalaum nga mabuligan kami sang halangdon nga tiglikom sang Department of Agriculture kag sang Sugar Regulatory Administration sa kubos namon nga kahimtangan,” the workers also stated in their letter.

In Saturday’s press conference, the workers also alleged that those who filed charges before the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) were threatened, and they expressed fear for their security and safety.

Valderrama is the president of the Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations (CONFED) and a former planter representative in the SRA Sugar Board.

In a statement, Valderrama denied the workers’ “malicious accusations” against him.

“What they cannot do legally, they try to achieve by mudslinging…,” he said in the statement, adding that his conscience is clear and he will not bow to any such coercion.

“His (Valderrama) personal and foundational principle is, and has always been, ‘a fair day’s wage, for a fair day’s labor,'” the statement added.*