CABANATUAN CITY – After three sleepless nights, marked by fear after being allegedly pursued by gunfire, the over 200 residents of a Cabanatuan City village heaved a sigh of relief after the owner of a poultry farm they are protesting against signed an agreement with their leaders on Monday.
The agreement among Filipina Magtalas and company on one side and Hazel Navarro, poultry house owner, on the other ended months of bitter contest between the residents who complained of heavy flies and intolerable offensive odor from the five poultry farms in the area.
The agreement, which was reached through the mediation of city police chief, Supt. Eliseo Cruz, provides that the hundreds of residents would for the meantime not bar Navarro’s harvesting of birds due in this point in time.
Until such time that a memorandum of agreement for a permanent solution is reached, Navarro will not load any chicks to the birdhouses. They will meet again on October 1.
Earlier, Cruz deployed a team of special weapons and tactics (SWAT) and two mobile patrols in a village here even as barangay officials aired alarm over alleged firing of guns on a flock of about 200 residents who were conducting a vigil against the operation of poultry farms in the area.
He said the police forces were aimed at preventing the escalation of violence as the camp of a poultry operator, Hazel Navarro, also complained of having been fired at.
“Hindi gagawin ng mga nagbi-vigil na magpaputok ng baril. Unang una, walang may baril sa kanila, ikalawa, hindi nila ipapahamak ang kanilang mga kasama, lalo na ang mga kababaihan,” said Filipina Magtalas, a businesswoman.
The residents held the vigil in protest of the perceived continuous operation of Navarro’s farm despite pending talks for a proposed memorandum of agreement at the Sangguniang Panlungsod. Proposed by barangay officials in the light of people’s complaints, the MOA calls for, among others, improvement of sanitary provisions and registration of workers who usually come from far places.
Alfredo Talania, a village councilor, said their constituents had to use mosquito nets to keep flies away from their meals. This, apart from suffering intolerable offensive odor during the poultry farms’ operation.
There are five poultry farms in the village and all of them are subject of protest.
“We never prayed for instant closure of the farms,” said Magtalas. “What we want is correction of the system,” she added.
The operators had insisted they were operating legally.
Cruz said the policemen will stay in the village, conducting patrol operations, 24 hours a day. He said they have yet to determine who really fired the guns.
Cruz said the agreement signed between Magtalas’ group and Navarro opens the room for a long-term solution. “Now they can talk about long term solution,” he said.
