CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — Farmers from Hacienda Dolores in Porac town, backed by supporters, have set camp in front of the regional office of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) here and plan to stay on until next month when they join an eight-day march to Manila.
Alyansang Magbubukid ng Gitnang Luson (AMGL) Chair Joseph Canlas said that march to Manila would be to demand justice for the killing of Hacienda Dolores farmer-leaders Menelao Barcia last May 2 and Arman Padino last Jan. 13.
He said that the march, to culminate in a rally either at the DAR national office or near Malacanang, would also be to protest alleged land grabbing at Hacienda Dolores for the construction of a highend housing project b
two real estate firms he named as LLL and FL, both reportedly under Ayala Land.
Amid a feeling of helplessness, farmers of Hacienda Dolores have already allied with other farmers’ groups, namely, the Aguman da reng Maglalautang Capampangan (AMC) and the AMGL, Canlas said.
He noted that way back in 2005, the DAR had already issued exemption and conversion orders in favor of the real estate firms for the highend housing project at Hacienda Dolores. Since then, the firms have been encroaching into their farms and fencing them off.
Farmers in the hacienda have insisted their rights to the land which their forefathers started to till way back in 1835. “Even before year 1835 under the Spanish colonialism, ancestors of present-day farmers have tilled the lands, still named Hacienda Ramona, thus, their rights to the land are historical and moral,” Canlas said.
He noted that the farmers’ forefathers had been farming at Hacienda Dolores “even before the first Philippine Republic was founded, but since 2004 coinciding with the construction of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), the farmers started to be harrassed.”
“Big landlords and companies such as Ayala Land are taking advantage of CARP (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform of the Philippines) provisions that serve their interests and are detrimental to poor farmers,” he noted.
He said that real estate firms are now constructing at the Hacienda Dolores the 1,125-hectare Alviera project, composed of eco-residential, commercial, light industrial and tourist facilities and establishments similar to Nuvali in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna province.
AMC Chair Elmer Franco, who is also a leader of the Aniban ng Nagkakaisang Mamamayan ng Hacienda Dolores (Aniban) said he and other affected farmers would continue to assert their rights over their lands. Franco also demanded justice for “our martyrs, Arman Padiño and Menelao Barcia, who were killed for asserting their rights to land.”
He said that since 2011, the real estate firms have been fencing off lands cultivated by the farmers and barred them from attending to and harvesting their crops.
“Aside from the extra- judicial killings, violence against farmers are unabated. On November 29, 2013, unidentified men shot a burning arrow at the house of farmer Jessel Orgas. On December 6, 2013, unidentified men threw a grenade again at Orgas’ house, wounding him.
On December 11, 2013, farmer Modesto Posadas was shot and wounded by two motorcycle- riding men near the SCTEx-Porac interchange,” he recalled. In a statement, the farmers’ groups blamed the Aquino government for the events at Hacienda Dolores.
It said the untoward developments were a result of the government’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program, as well as Central Luzon Regional Development Plan (CLRDP). “Hacienda Dolores farmers witnessed elements of Philippine National Police and Philippine Army always coordinating with LLL and FL in moves against the farmers," Canlas said.
“The Ayala Land project is definitely backed up by the Aquino government as it funded his election bid in 2010.Government machineries are utilized by LLL and FL,” he also said.
