RTC Branch 40’s Rubentito Alomia declared the turnover of the parcels of land being cultivated by local farmers to the military officials, headed by Col. Emerito Pineda, camp commander of the Philippine Army’s 7th Infantry Division at about 10 a.m. resulting to a wave of commotion between the two camps.
Alomia said the order of RTC Branch 40 Presiding Judge Evelyn Turla dated Dec. 9, 2014 which ordered 14 farmers to vacate the land they occupy at Sitio Mindoro, Barangay Caballero was final and executory.
He said the order has been published as required by the court.
But while the court order covered only 14 people, about two hundred poor farmers were also threatened of dislocation as even the sheriff could not pinpoint what particular parcel of lands are to be vacated, according to Barangay Chairperson Remedios Pascua, 63. Pascua noted that the court order did not carry any technical description of the land.
“Paano sasabihin ng sheriff na yun ang ipinababakanteng lupa ay wala ngang technical description. Paano basata na lang nila paalisin kahit sino?” Pascua said.
As non-uniformed men reportedly hired by the Army started clearing a space near the road, supposedly to start fencing off the properties, farmers started to flock to the place to show resistance. This increased the tension prompting armed personnel of the city police and the Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Offi ce’s Special Weapons and Tactics to guard all over the place.
Alomia and Senior State Solicitor General Ma. Lourdes Leones had been meeting with Pineda at an army detachment. The tension heightened when a military truck was parked across the village road to stop a private truck that delivers chairs and tables for the farmers, earning the ire of farmers.
Pescua then challenged the Army to shoot her rather than violating the rights of her constituents.
“Sige barilin niyo ako, pangha-harass ang ginagawa ninyo,” she said, even noting a soldier who takes her videos. Barangay offi cials, including local peacekeepers from at least ten other villages of this city, rushed to the place. “Gusto lang naming matiyak na walang magiging gulo,” an official said.
Supt. Leandro Novilla, city police chief, proposed the creation of a crisis management team to thwart any untoward incident. “Nandito kami, nandito ang sundalo makabubuti kung magbuo tayo ng crisis management team,” he said. But to no avail.
City Councilor Julius Bautista who is among the parties in the court case, said the Army should wait for the decision of the SC before implementing the order. “Nanalo kami sa MTC (Municipal Trial Court) at hindi namin sila pinaalis,” he said, referring to the establishment of a detachment within the contested property.
He said they will continue in the area to prevent soldiers from installing wired fences.
As of press time, there was a stand-off as both the farmers and soldiers held their ground.
Last week, the farmers filed a 55-page petition for certiorari with application for the issuance of a temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction to stop the RTC from carrying out its order.
Yesterday’s incident came four days after the retirement of Armed Forces chief of staff, Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. who they sued along with Lieutenant Colonels Benito Doniego Jr. and Alfredo Patarata.
Mayor Adrianne Mae Cuevas, who was abroad, expressed concern over the incident. She said she felt helpless because she was not around to intervene.
Cuevas said she took pity on the farmers as it was their only source of livelihood and it was taken from them,” she said.
The farmers said they have been tilling the lands since the time of their ancestors in the 1930s, with government even providing them irrigation support and a dam. They added that the city government, under Cuevas, even built a farm-to-market road in the site but the military took the farmlands from them.
“They have been oppressing us when they are supposed to protect us, being the soldiers of the people,” Bautista said.
The Supreme Court petition was filed by the farmers after the 12th Division of the Court of Appeals, in its June 16, 2015 Resolution, merely noted and did not take action on their petition for review of the Palayan RTC Branch 40’s decision reversing and setting aside the October 8, 2013 Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) order which ruled in their favor relative to the case of forcible entry they filed against Catapang, Doniego and Patarata.
At the time the class suit was filed, Catapang was a major general of the Philippine Army and commanding general of the 7th Infantry Division stationed at the Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation here.
