ANGELES CITY – The Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson (AMGL) said yesterday that the Cojuangco clan, whose lands in Hacienda Luisita was ordered by the Supreme Court to be given to farmers, is now among two alleged claimants of some 289.54 hectares within Camp Gregg Military Reservation covering 12 barangays in Bayambang, Pangasinan.
The AMGL revealed this as it decried three farmer leaders in Barangay Bical Sur in Bayambang, Pangasinan who are resisting the construction of concrete fences reservation area also allegedly being claimed by Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino.
Farmers belonging to the local farmers’ group Ulopan Na Umbaley Ed Camp Gregg Military Reservation have been protesting the fencing of the area since last week, as they asserted that the land is of the Camp Gregg Military Reservation under the supervision of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
“The lands should be distributed to the farmers who have been cultivating them for decades,” said AMGL chairman Joseph Canlas.
Canlas noted that “Camp Gregg Military Reservation is a public land as the American government turned it over to the Bureau of Lands in 1949, and those private individuals who are claiming owning lands are not cleared by neither the DENR nor the Department of Agrarian Reform, thus, they are illegal claimants.”
The KMP in Pangasinan said in a statement that “Gov. Espino is systematically concentrating ownership of lands throughout the province targeting those positioned by poor farmers who could not defend their rights through the courts. “
The group said that Espino is planning to construct a private resort at the site being fenced.
AMGL also said that the 289.54-hectare Camp Gregg Military Reservation covering 12 barangays in Bayambang is also being claimed by the Cojuangco-owned Central Azucarera de Tarlac (CAT) Realty.
“Farmers there reported that they are being ejected by private claimants who they believe were speculators for the Cojuangcos,” Canlas said.
Canlas said “CAT Realty is claiming ownership of the land since 1947 amid historical records that the lands were then under American control and were turned over to the government only in 1949.”
The KMP in Pangasinan reported to AMGL that seven farmer leaders were initially arrested by the police last Jan. 13 as they protesting the construction of a fence within an areas allegedly being claimed by Espino.
Four of them were released on the same day but three others remained detained as of yesterday.
The KMP identified the arrested farmers as Rodolfo Natividad, Emeterio Paningbatan, Felipe Caron, Bernardito Dizon, Rudy Peralta, Rodrigo Asuncion and Ludivico Mejia. Police arrested the seven as they blocked the construction of the fence.
Paningbatan, Dizon and Mejia remained in police custody after they were charged with physical injuries and attempted murder. The police accused them of companions of another man who allegedly fled with a gun when the police tried to disperse them.
