WHY is there no groundswell of support for these farmers? Did they really have a right to the land they are claiming or are they squatters who claim they are of indigenous ancestry and are entitled to the land?
Regardless of the nature of the claim the President should settle this now, give the peasants or pawns cash compensation from Pagcor [Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.) or the PCSO [Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office] just like she does the bishops, the knights, and the rooks.
This is a monumental game of chess and right now it is a stalemate, but the positions could change any minute and the game will be over.
– Alfonso DeMayo, Vancouver, Canada (via e-mail)
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March 21st, 2008 at 9:11 am
If only the land was given first lock, stock, and barrel then the farmers would have sold it to SMFI, instead. That is what happened at CALABARZON. The farmers were given the CLOWA then sold the land to developers for a hefty windfall. CARP is evil. It has a forked policy.
March 20th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Time and again, our government shows it real face towards Land Reform. During the time of President Cory Aguino, she was challenge by Gregorio Honasan, then a Senator, to show her sincerity towards the landless tenants to surrender Hacienda Luisita to the farmer recipient.
Instead, the Mendiola massacre happened. Countless farmers from Hacienda Luisita died and numerous others were seriously wounded, by Military/Police. And up to the present, no Military/Police was ever convicted.
Another incident regarding Hacienda Luisita occurred wherein Mrs. Teresita Santo Tomas of Department of Labor sent military to safeguard the gate of Hacienda Luisita. Again, same of the protesting farmers were massacred. Again, no one was accused.
There are many injustices related to Land Reform. A classic example of injustice is what the then President FVR did to a Hacienda, somewhere in Batangas, a farm which was already awarded to the recipient farmers was overturned by FVR. In spite of land certificate of ownership, FVR, the then President, reverse the ruling, and convert the Hacienda into an Industrial Zone, at the expense of the farmers.
Ironically, the conversion of the Hacienda into an Economic Zone did not materialize. And for reason beyond my comprehension, the original owner got it back again.
The farm in Somilao, Bukidnon is a typical case wherein you can construe that our government is insincere towards awarding tenant farmers to own a farm. And the Commission on Land Reform is an accessory and an obstacle. For several years now, Land Reform Commission has not awarded any farmer recipient. It is an NPA, or non performing agency.
Many religious/civic organizations, as well as lawyers, wanted to help the aggrieve farmers of their rights. But, with the nature and attitude of our government, more particularly, under National Security Adviser, Norberto Gonzales, it is next to impossible to turn the table in favor of the Tenant farmers.
All Sec. Norberto Gonzales will do is to brand those poor farmers, as leftist, communist, or NPA, and they are now considered as fugitive, and subject for liquidation. Or if the farmers course the complaint to the court, mind you, it will take decades before their case is acted upon. In reality, Judges just sit on their cases to rot.
Our government’s attitude contributes a lot to the injustice in our society. We have an Oligarch kind of Government, wherein the lowly people that comprises the majority of the populace has been deprive of their rights.
On top of the injustice, the people are subjected to a very severe taxation, which affects their very existence. While in highly developed Nation, like America and India, whenever there is an economic down turn, their citizens are given tax shelter, tax rebate, and incentives, in order for its citizen to survive during hard times; here in the Philippines, unjustified increases in both Local, and National taxes, is always ever increasing.
And adding insult to injury, our government squanders these hard earned taxes. Even the remittances of OFW which should have been spent sparingly, but no, PGMA, herself, squanders it by jet-setting abroad, with 70 congressmen and hangers-on while majority of the citizens suffers for lack of wants.
Indeed, our government, which comprises 90 percent ethnic Chinese, is a very good example of a nation conquered without firing a single shot. These ethnic Chinese dominated our big business and they established cartels so that they can dictate the prices. Arthur Yap, also an ethnic Chinese, heading the Department of Agriculture; with his announcement regarding shortage of Rice Supply, resulted to panic buying and spiraling price increase.
Instead of Advising PGMA to abolish all taxes on fertilizers, insecticides, and diesel, as emergency measure, to promote rice production, the blubbering head of Department of Agriculture made the stupid announcement regarding rice shortage.
In Thailand, year 1997, during the Asian economic meltdown, the government has an order to shot anyone who is rumor mongering with regard to their currency.
Our media is also controlled by ethnic Chinese, and I, for one, feels slighted to the insults coming out of Radios and T.V. programs where in scantily clod young Filipinas are made to gyrate, a sign of debauchery, in front of the T.V. Even would be participant, such as grand mothers are made to look foolish and stupid, just to be a participant.
I also object to the manner T.V. news give emphasis on gruesome murders, homicide, and killings of all sorts, as though ethnic Filipinos are only good for these activities. We, the ethnic Filipinos strongly object to these kind of shows.
These ethnic Chinese did not even spare our religion. The Catholic priesthood is predominantly ethic Chinese. Why, aren’t there any more ethnic Filipinos who can take that role in our country?
To the lowly ethnic Filipino farmers, someday, you will wake up, and find out that this country is no longer ours. We have been invaded.
March 20th, 2008 at 4:43 am
as far as i know, farmers together with their carabaos are plowing the field all day long. they till the soil and feed the carabao.
anyway, times have changed. we have fishermen not in the sea catching fish, but in streets as galunggong become scarce and expensive and would like to know why, better ask Cory,
now we have farmers without carabao but going to malacanang to demand the land that they said their own.
this is not to demean our farmers but really time has changed.
we don’t have anymore land to farm because of subdivisions, we don’t have anymore fish to catch because of pollution and over fishing and many more where our breadbasket workers were out of work.
again, they put the blame to gloria. really time has changed.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:16 am
Mr. De los Reyes, I do not mean to insult your intelligence when I say that you should check your facts before stating things against the Sumilao (not Somilao) farmers. Do remember that the 144 hectares of land the “original owner” (Norberto Quisumbing) was recognized under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 (R.A. 6657) as Ancestral in nature (historically, the 144 hectares of land in question was part of a larger parcel about 244 hectares in size which was illegally seized by the Angeles clan in the 40’s from the Higaonons there) and whose tenants - the 137 MAPALAD farmers and now the SALFA farmers who are the children of the MAPALAD farmers - were the descendants of the original residents of the land, thus entitling them to ownership of the land via the issuance of a Certificate of Land Ownership. Next, regarding your argument that the conversion of the 144 hectares of land to agro-industrial nullified the ownership of the land by the farmers: this could simply not be possible because the application for land conversion was ILLEGAL in nature, primarily because the request for land conversion (N.B. city councils can only reclassify lands, not convert them) was passed at the town council level of Sumilao and affirmed at the provincial council of Bukidnon with the knowledge that such a request can only be received at the Department of Land Reform and that the “conversion order” passed by the Bukidnon provincial council was moot and void, and secondly because the 144 hectares of land was evaluated by 3 government offices as prime agricultural land, exempting it from conversion acc. to DAR Administrative Order 20, series of 1992. Finally, regarding the sale of the land to SMFI: Quisumbing could not have sold the land to SMFI in good faith or legally given that the development plans contained in SMFI’s development plans were radically different from Quisumbing’s plans in the application for land conversion that he had submitted to the provincial council (which by the way, was never even completed in the first place). If the law is to be followed, the non-compliance with the “1 year to begin, 5 years to complete” rule was enough to nullify the “conversion order”; however, SMFI brazenly defied DAR A.O. 1, series of 2002 which included sections on the obligation of future landowners to stick with the original development plans of the land conversion applicant, lest the land return to the original CARP grantees (which in this case, I believe, is a good thing). By proposing to build a piggery on the land, they violated the order by leaps and bounds.
Last time I heard, SMC (yes Mr. De los Reyes, the case is now being pursued not just by SMFI but also by the bigwigs in San Miguel Corporation) was indeed offering another, larger land to the Sumilao farmers. In fact, that’s old news since that was the talk of the town during the farmers’ stay in DLSU a few months back. However, the question that begs to be asked is this: given that SMC already knew of the presence of this land in Bukidnon, why did they still insist on using land that was smaller in nature and whose ownership was doubtful? Besides, during the “negotiations”, SMC did not fully disclose the ownership of the land leading us to suspect that there was some foul play involved - might it be that SMC was taking the land of another group of farmers, that it was part of a “divide and conquer” plot the powers above were hatching?
Mr. de los Reyes, I, my colleagues in DLSU , and the many other youth groups who have expressed support for the Sumilao Farmers firmly believe that the facts point to justice being denied to the farmers. This is not simply a case of farmers wanting their land back - this is a case of farmers wanting justice for the atrocities done to them and thousands of farmers around the country who have had their land stolen from them by the rich and powerful. The Sumilao issue might just be the test case that those who are still looking for their dignity as people - and the appreciation of the people as the beings responsible for putting food on our tables - are looking for.
Besides dear sir, can you stomach the fact that priority is being given to providing air-conditioning to pigs over the livelihood and life of human beings just like you? I think you know the answer to that.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:19 am
One can pity the farmers or not, the problem is who is the legal owner. And a legal owner cannot be stripped of his rights nor forced to give up his property. It is another matter that the farmers did not aqt useful before the land was sold and refused any offered solution.
Generally, it is a similar matter than with Luisita. Do anyone think these former workers could run a splitted Luisita successful? There is not much chance for it.
Which of course does not clear the question whether or not Luisita has been rightful obtained by the late Cojuangko or through misuse of a government fund in his favor as Marcos claimed and a court also stated in a return order, which has been nullified when Cory became president.
Ru7nning a big agrar business needs a lot of knowledge, unity and also money.