MABALACAT CITY — Farmers’ groups in Central Luzon have once again renewed their call for justice for the victims of the 1987 Mendiola Massacre and criticized President Aquino for ignoring land reform.
The renewed call for justice and genuine land reform came in the wake of the 26th anniversary of Mendiola Massacre on Jan. 22.
The farmers belonging to the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson (AMGL, Farmers’ Alliance in Central Luzon), particularly its member-organizations AMGL-Nueva Ecija and the Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (AMBALA) lambasted Aquino saying he “has affirmed his landlord class as he continues to keep farmers landless.”
“Farmworkers in Hacienda Luisita are yet to be benefit from the land distribution,” they added.
The group decried what they described as “controlled-land reform” being implemented in Hacienda Luisita under the Aquino administration.
“Aquino ignores land reform. Hacienda Luisita and Nueva Ecija lands are still undistributed,” said Joseph Canlas, AMGL chair and Anakpawis Partylist Central Luzon regional coordinator.
“While in our rice granary province of Nueva Ecija, the government revokes land distribution, taking back lands from poor farmers such as the case of former Hacienda Davis in Barangay Manggang Marikit, Bagong Barrio and Yuson (Mambayu) in Guimba town,” he added.
The groups said that after a long and gruelling legal battle at the Supreme Court, farmworkers in Hacienda Luisita have yet to concretely benefit from Aquino’s commitment to abide by the High Court’s decision.
Canlas said the farmers believe that the Dept. of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is deliberately delaying the land distribution process that would guarantee their list of farmworker-beneficiaries (FWBs) would be crammed by Cojuangco-Aquino lackeys, to keep their control over the land.
In Nueva Ecija, where Manila sources its rice supply, productive rice lands are now being threatened to be converted, Canlas said, as local offices of the DAR and land grabbers are ganging up against poor farmers and literally attempting to snatch lands from them such as the case of Mambayu.
He said the 82-hectare disputed land is formerly part of Hacienda Davis which was acquired by DAR but leased to Philippine Cotton, a Taiwan-owned agro-corporation.
The company later abandoned the land and subsequently, poor farmers cultivated it since 1992.
Canlas said after more than a decade of peaceful cultivation, the local office of the DAR made up “ListaSaka” or list of farmer-beneficiaries in 2007. ListaSaka listed those who are known as lackeys of land grabbers and excluded the poor farmers of Mambayu, he added.
“There were many attempts of land grabbers, backed up by police and military to physically take away lands such as blocking farmers to work on their lands, attempting to fence around it and putting a ‘no trespassing’ sign. They were always thwarted by the resistance of many local farmers,” Canlas said.
The latest attempt was on December 6, 2012 when about 200 policemen from the 307th PNP company and Nueva Ecija police and military belonging to 7th Infantry Division of the Phil. Army loaded two six-by-six trucks with paid lackeys of land grabbers and tried to occupy the lands and set up camp but Mambayu farmers were able to block the police and military, as well as dismantle their tents, Canlas said.
He explained that Mambayu farmers made their move since the case is still pending at the DAR central office, where officials initially claimed that the certificate of land ownership awards (CLOA) being used by ListaSaka are questionable.
AMGL is also opposing the conversion of productive rice lands to give way to the Central Luzon Expressway (CLEx). The construction of CLEx phase 1 from Tarlac City to Cabanatuan City where farmers will be ejected from Zaragosa, Aliaga, and Quezon towns.
“If productive rice lands in Nueva Ecija are subjected to land use conversion, Manila and other parts of the country would be affected by the decline of rice supply coming from the province. We would be eating poor quality imported rice. This is a problem that concerns all of us,” Canlas said.
“Aquino is protecting the interests of the rich landlord class and abandoning the poor farmers.
The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) prolonged by CARP Extension with ‘Reforms’ is already 24 years old but poor farmers remain landless. There was injustice in the Mendiola Massacre and a repeat in Hacienda Luisita Massacre in 2004,” Canlas said.
