CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Another farmer-leader was shot dead while his wife was critically wounded in an ambush in Porac town last Friday and the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) related the incident to the land reform conflict brewing in the village.
KMP identified the victims as Nemelao Barcia, 54, who died on the spot, and his wife Maria, also 54, who was critically injured when they were ambushed in Purok 3, Barangay Manibaug Paralaya while on their way home to Hacienda Dolores in Porac at about 9 p.m. last Friday.
Barcia was leader of the Aniban ng Nagkakaisang Mamayan sa Hacienda Dolores (Aniban), affiliate group of the Aguman Maglalautang Capampangan – KMP (AMC-KMP) and village councilor of Hacienda Dolores.
KMP Chair Rafael Mariano blamed the Aquino government for the killing, saying that “the increasing violence against farmers of Hacienda Dolores is directly linked to the agrarian dispute in the area.” “Barcia is the second victim of agrarian-related killings and violence in Hacienda Dolores.
This cowardly act is a desperate attempt by real estate giants to terrorize farmers fighting for their rights to the lands,” Mariano said. The KMP noted that the more than 2,000-hectare Hacienda Dolores is a subject of an agrarian dispute.
It recalled that in 2005, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) anomalously exempted the area from land reform allegedly to accommodate land developers the Leonardo- Lachenal Holdings, Inc. (LLHI) and FL Property Management Corp. (FLPMC).
The firms are reportedly fronts for Ayala Land. Some 1,125 of the 2,000 hectares is reportedly being eyed by the developers for “an integrated mixed-use development envisioned to be the growth center of Central Luzon which will have commercial district, business and industrial park, university zones, retail centers, a country club, recreational areas and residential neighborhoods.”
The KMP recalled that “last January, armed goons and security guards of the Arsenal Security Agency manning the hacienda allegedly open fire on Arman Padiño, Noel and Reynold Tumali while on their way to their farm. Padiño who was shot in the head died while Noel and Reynold were seriously wounded.”
It also noted that Barangay Dolores Chair Antonio Tolentino has remained in jail since Holy Week after he was allegedly falsely charged with kidnapping and car-napping filed by the developers. Tolentino is an outspoken member of Aniban.
“The sham CARP is among the main culprit in the killings of Hacienda Dolores farmers. The killings and escalating violence against farmers are enough grounds that the anti-peasant CARP should no longer be extended even for a second,” Mariano said.
Mariano lashed at the move of Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat to extend the CARP for another year or until June 30, 2015. “Instead of maneuvering to extend the CARP and prolonging the agony of farmers, we challenge the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agrarian Reform (COCAR) to immediately probe the escalating political and agrarian- related killings and violence in Hacienda Dolores,” he said.
