Poor Filipino Farmers Knock On Palace Door

Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello assures farmers, who stage a hunger strike from President Gloria Arroyo’s husband Jose Mihuel Arroyo’s 157-hectare sugar land that the Palace will act on their issue. A meeting with Land Registration Authority administrator Benedicto Ulep, Department Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman, Task Force Mapalad chairman Christian Monsod, and the group’s president Jose Rodito Angeles is set next Monday, December 8, 2008. Bello appealed to farmers to lift their 5-day hunger strike as they negotiate. Farmers are calling for the distribution to farmers-beneficiaries under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program of Arroyo’s Hacienda Bacan in Negros province as promised by the President in 2001 when President Joseph Estrada was ousted.

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 5, 2008) – Poor Philippine farmers who are now on their fifth day of hunger strike in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Quezon City have gathered in front of Malacañang on Friday to seek audience with President Gloria Arroyo and ask her to keep her promise to distribute Hacienda Bacan and other landholdings owned by the family of her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo in Negros Occidental province.

Jose Rodito Angeles, president of the peasant federation Task Force Mapalad, said they have decided to go to Malacañang after the government agencies which are supposed to look into their plight ignored their pleas.

“We have been asking the Register of Deeds (ROD) in Bacolod City for over a month now to register the CLOA (Certificate of Landownership Award) of farmer-beneficiaries in Hacienda Bacan. We have gone to the Land Registration Authority, only to be arrested by police. We have urged Mike Arroyo to obey the law and stop resisting the distribution of his hacienda. Our pleas have fallen on deaf ears,” said Angeles, a former farm worker of the Arroyos in Hacienda Grande in the village of Robles in La Castellana town.

“Now we go to the President herself. She made a promise not just once, but several times in the past, to distribute the Arroyo landholdings. We want her to keep that promise. We want her to tell her husband to stop pressuring the ROD to delay the registration of the CLOA for Hacienda Bacan,” Angeles said.

TFM had earlier called for the relief of lawyer Romulo Gonzaga, chief of the ROD in Bacolod City, for allegedly obstructing the process of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform (CARP) in the 157-hectare Hacienda Bacan, located in the village of Guintubhan in the town of Isabela.

The farmers also called on LRA Administrator Benedicto Ulep to process the registration of their CLOA in the wake of Gonzaga’s adamant refusal to register it. Angeles said they will also ask President Arroyo to ensure the distribution of another Arroyo hacienda—the 10-hectare portion of the 197-hectare Hacienda Grande.

He said the 10 hectares were the only piece of land left for CARP coverage after the hacienda was subdivided into 42 titles to evade distribution. (With a report from Lani Factor)

Farmers Harassed In The Philippines

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines - Peasant federation Task Force Mapalad has condemned the filing of "inciting to sedition" charges against five farmers from the Arroyo-owned Hacienda Bacan who were arrested Wednesday while trying to hold a protest rally in front of the Bacolod City Plaza as President Gloria Arroyo delivered her speech at the opening of the Maskarra Festival.

TFM president Jose Rodito Angeles said the police originally intended to file charges of public scandal against the farmers but they were informed by police chief Luisito Acebuche, Station 1 commander, that the Presidential Security Group insisted on the filing of sedition charges.

"We strongly condemn the filing of sedition charges. Reading the fine print of what had been done to us; this government has shown its blatant disregard for the rights of landless farmers to own and till their land. There is no basis in law to rationalize sedition raps against landless farmers calling for legitimate demands such as the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Programme," said Angeles.

He added: " We strongly urge the President to make good her public promise last May to distribute Hacienda Bacan, which is owned by the family of her husband," he said.

Angeles clarified that, contrary to reports, they were not part of the group that jeered and heckled President Arroyo during her speech at the opening of the Maskarra Festival.

"We were at the Bacolod Plaza and immediately dispersed and arrested after we put up our placards calling for the immediate distribution of the 157-hectare Hacienda Bacan owned by the family of the First Gentleman Mike Arroyo," said Angeles.

Angeles said they had not called for the ouster of President Arroyo contrary to media reports.

"It is high time that the President order the Agrarian Reform Department to continue CARP processes in the distribution of Hacienda Bacan by issuing Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) to qualified farmer beneficiaries. The Land Bank of the Philippines must now issue a cash deposit in the name of the landowner, the Rivulet Development
Corporation after a property valuation was finished more than two months ago," he said.

Angeles decried the continuing detention of the five farmers as a result of the filing of sedition raps. “The charges must be dropped immediately and our farmers must be released soonest,” Angeles stated.

They were identified as Hermigildo Padilla, Everlito Algona, Bonbon Algona, Noel Estaris Jr., and Gerry Batalla. A sixth farmer was earlier reported arrested but was able to slip away from his captors. (Lani Factor)

Negros Farmers Appeal To Arroyo

Negros farmers and their families hear mass Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at the San Diego Cathedral in Silay City. The farmers, who march around the provinces beginning Monday, have appealed to Philippine leader Gloria Arroyo to prolong Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. (Photos by VJ Villafranca)

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 30, 2008) - Peasant federation Task Force Mapalad (TFM) has called on President Gloria Arroyo to certify as urgent the bill that will extend the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) to compel Congress to stop delays and hasten its enactment.

Some 3,000 people, mostly farmers, marched on Wednesday for third straight day to dramatize their appeal for extension of the CARP law.

“President Arroyo should certify the bill as urgent. Some congressmen are making alibis to delay CARP extension. Some have proposed to hold a series of public hearings. All they wanted was to delay, so that when CARP expires in June, they can forget about the legislation,” TFM president Jose Rodito Angeles said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

Farm workers and advocate groups, including representatives from the religious sector and civil groups and the youths from all over Negros island joined the 200-kilometer march to Bacolod City.

Farmers called on the three Negros solons, Representatives Monico Puentebella of Bacolod City, Jeffrey Ferrer of 4th District, and Ignacio Arroyo of 5th District to help in the passage of the bill. (Lani Factor and Heidi Fernandez)

Peasants March In Negros, Seek Longer CARP Life

Task Force Mapalad farmers in Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental march to dramatize their calls for the immediate passage of a law extending the government’s agrarian reform program which will end this year. (Photos by V.J. Villafranca)

BACOLOD, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 29, 2008) – Close to one thousand farmers and their families and supporters marched for the second day in the central Philippine province of Negros Oriental to dramatize their calls for immediate passage of a law extending beyond 2008 the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Jose Rodito Angeles, president of the peasant federation called Task Force Mapalad (TFM), which spearheaded the pilgrimage, said more and more people were joining four-day march which began Monday.

“The enthusiastic reception to the march is attributed not only to its being the first of its kind to be held in Negros but also to the strong desire of the rural community for extension of CARP with reforms,” Angeles said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

He said many of the marchers are holders of certificate of land ownership award (CLOA) who remain uninstalled in their land because of landowner resistance.

“Uninstalled CLOA holders are quite a phenomenon in Negros. That is one of the reasons why CARP must be extended. Otherwise, the fate of these CLOA holders would be left hanging,” he said.

Edna Sobrecaray, TFM-Negros spokesperson, said: “Our congressmen should see for themselves how the people in Negros are desirous to own land under CARP. It would be a disservice to them if the three solons representing Negros continue to delay or work against its extension.”

Sobrecaray was referring to Representatives Monico Puentebella of Bacolod City, Jeffrey Ferrer of the 4th District, and Ignacio Arroyo of the 5th District whom the farmers have accused of campaigning against extension of CARP, which expires on June 30.

Two groups of marchers, one coming from the north and the other from the south, will converge on Thursday in Bacolod City to hold various mass activities that dramatize their call on Congress for the immediate passage of CARP extension law. “Owning land through CARP is the farmer’s last hope to feed his family, send his children to school, and finally break the cycle of poverty” Sobrecaray said.

In the north, some 400 marchers stopped for lunch at Eusebio Lopez Elementary School in the village of Pabrika in Sagay City, then proceeded to Cadiz City, around 24 kilometers away. At the boundary, they were joined by a group of some 150 farmer and farm workers.

Three marchers – Amparo Caontoy, 66, of Hacienda Minakalao; Milagros Estrada, 54, of Hacienda Caridad; and Narciso Canete, 48, of Hacienda Rose Marie --collapsed from exhaustion due to heat and were immediately given first aid by the medical team. By mid-afternoon the marchers reached Central Cadiz where the municipal agrarian reform officer sent them 500 plastic bags of ice-cold water.

Before dusk, some 20 youths, mostly high school students, joined the march along with their parents, who were also farmers. By the time the marchers reached the municipality of Manapla at around 9 p.m., they had walked 38 kilometers. They spent the night at the municipal gymnasium.

On Tuesday, the marchers, now numbering almost 500, proceeded toward Silay City. At around 9 a.m., the marchers stopped at the public plaza in Victorias to take breakfast. Several policemen arrived to tell them they could not eat at the plaza, but the marchers argued that they were in a public place and their assembly was peaceful.

In the south, some 100 farmers from contentious lands in Negros Oriental gathered in Kabankalan City where they were joined by 30 farm workers from Negros Occidental, mostly from Arroyo-owned Haciendas Bacan, Grande, and Paraiso.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) provincial office in Negros Oriental donated two sacks of rice, noodles, and packs of cigarettes. The DAR municipal office in Hinigaran, through MARO Myrna Mercano and her staff, also sent 3 kilos of dried fish, 500 sandwiches, 4 boxes of juice, and 5 boxes of iced water.

Fr. Robert Cermona of Kabangkalan Parish held a liturgical service and blessed the group before they started to march at around noon. After an hour, they stopped at Barangay Tuoy to take lunch and proceeded afterward to Himamaylan.

Two women marchers from Elizalde Roxas (ELRO) landholding fainted under the sun’s heat and were immediately assisted by paramedics. They were identified as Carmen Raydan, 52, and Elizabeth Balingit, 49.

In Isabela, where the 157-hectare Hacienda Bacan owned by First Gentleman Mike Arroyo is located, the marches were joined by another 100 farmers. Some 20 children came to deliver prayers for their parents then later joined the march.

After walking 30 kilometers, the marchers stopped to spend the night at Plaza Miranda in Hinigaran, where they were joined by 70 more farmers. Some 320 marchers from south represented farmers and farm workers from Montenegro , Goni, Lagpasan, and Tirambalo lands in Negros Oriental, and the Arroyo lands, Tunsay, and Manalo in southern Negros Occidental.

The next day, the marchers were joined by 35 farmers from Payao and 10 CLOA holders from Hacienda Dumancas. Before they resumed the march, Hinigaran Mayor Hermie Lou Aguilard gave them 5 kilos of sugar, 3 kilos of ground native coffee, 5 kilos of dried fish, and 300 pieces of breadl, TFM said. (Lani Factor and Heidi Fernandez)

Agrarian Headquarters Attacked In Central RP

CEBU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 23, 2008) – Unidentified men exploded a grenade in an attack early Thursday at a provincial office of the Department of Agrarian Reform in Negros Occidental in central Philippines.

Police said the men tossed a grenade at the DAR compound in Bacolod City in Negros Occidental before dawn, but it reported no casualties in the attack that shattered glass windows and doors.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the blast blamed by farmers to private gangs of landowners opposed to the extension of the government's Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

The peasant federation Task Force Mapalad (TFM) condemned the attack. "We condemn in the strongest possible terms the attack on the provincial office of the DAR. While the police are still investigating the incident, there is no doubt for us that this is the start of another round of harassment by landlords opposing the extension of the CARP," Edna Sobrecaray, TFM spokesperson, said.

Police is still investigating the motive of the attack.

"Those behind the blast may be the same landlords who were behind the series of killings of TFM farmers. Now, these landlords are out to threaten even government officials supporting the extension of the CARP," Sobregacay said without further elaborating.

The attack occurred ahead of a schedule meeting between farmers and agrarian officials over the implementation of the CARP in the province. Sobrecaray said farmers would not be cowed by unscrupulous landlords hindering the implementation of the agrarian reform in Negros.

"We are ready to defend our ranks. We will not be cowed by landlords who want to hinder justice. We had shed blood to ensure that justice would reign. We will do this again, if this is the only way to fight for our rights to the lands we till," she said.

The government's agrarian reform program may be extended after President Gloria Arroyo certified as urgent a bill seeking a 10-year extension of the CARP, which is set to end in June 2008, ten years after it was passed. CARP was the result of the passage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL) in 1988.

The passage of the CARL under Republic Act 6655 in 1988 was hailed as a historic occasion. CARL promised to redistribute agricultural lands -- in several phases -- to those who actually till them.

The CARP is primarily a social reform measure and addresses the need for a more equitable distribution of land ownership. Its end-goal is to improve the standards of living of beneficiaries and promote greater economic activity in the rural areas.

Most of the government funding for CARP came from the recovered P50-billion of the so-called Marcos' ill-gotten wealth; however, only P10 billion was allocated to the DAR, the rest of the money was distributed to other agencies, including P8-million for human rights victims under then President Ferdinand Marcos. Belgium, Spain and Japan among the countries that are supporting the CARP. (Mindanao Examiner)

Negros Farmers Favor CARP Extension

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 16, 2008) - Some 200 farmers from various haciendas in Negros Occidental province in central Philippines have trooped in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) office to urge government action on land cases pending under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

The farmers urged Manila and Congress to enact a law extending the CARP beyond 2008 and ensuring provisions for resolution of existing land cases and the distribution of the remaining CARP backlog of 1.2 million hectares of private agricultural lands.

Jose Rodito Angeles, president of the Task Force Mapalad, said extending the CARP would benefit millions of people while ending CARP would only benefit a few individuals, including two Negros Occidental landowners Congressmen Ignacio Arroyo who is President Gloria Arroyo's brother-in-law and Jeffrey Ferrer.

Angeles noted that among all provinces, Negros Occidental has the highest land acquisition and distribution (LAD) backlog, accounting for 180,00 hectares of private agricultural lands.

Angeles said DAR had admitted that the province has the highest LAD backlog because of resistance and political maneuvers by big landowners who are against CARP.

“Big landowners here, including Representatives Arroyo and Ferrer, are calling for a review of CARP before any extension. Actually, they are calling for an end to CARP to prevent the distribution of their land,” he said.

Earlier, farmers of the 157-hectare Hacienda Bacan, owned by First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, had called on the government to order the distribution of the hacienda as proof of her promised “legacy” in the remaining years of the President's term.

“The President said she wanted the remaining years of her presidency to become the legacy phase. Distribution of Hacienda Bacan could be part of that legacy,” said Edna Sobrecaray, TFM-Negros spokesperson.

Hacienda Bacan in the village of Guintubhan in Isabela town was placed under CARP coverage in 1996 through compulsory acquisition.
In 2001, following President Arroyo’s announcement that she would distribute the family-owned lands, the hacienda was offered by Rep. Arroyo to CARP under voluntary offer to sell (VOS).

However, the Land Bank of the Philippines refused to process the hacienda's claim folder saying Arroyo had no authority to voluntarily sell the property since the President's husband was the real landowner.

DAR said it had asked the First Gentleman to issue a letter of intent for VOS, but to date no such letter had been issued, the group said.

Sobrecaray said: “Iggy (Rep. Arroyo) had been unethical in calling for a review of CARP when his real intention was to push for its non-extension and save the hacienda of his brother from being distributed under CARP.”

Sobrecaray said members of the House of Representatives who have families with big landholdings should inhibit themselves from the issue of CARP extension.