Newsbreak Online - Farmers Walk for Months to Gain Back Land

Home

Sections

Special Reports

Farmers Walk for Months to Gain Back Land

Sections

Special Reports

ALL |0-9 |A |B |C |D |E |F |G |H |I |J |K |L |M |N |O |P |Q |R |S |T |U |V |W |X |Y |Z

Article Index

Sections

Special Reports

Farmers Walk for Months to Gain Back Land

Written by Denver Nicks
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
Victor Ligayao, 20, has been walking for months and he is very far from home. Through sweltering heat and heavy rains, beleaguered by a sprained foot and perennial cramps, this soft-spoken farmer has traveled well over 1,000 kilometers, but he will not stop, he said, until he reaches his destination. Ligayao and the more than 50 others marching with him from Bukidnon to Malacañang believe passionately in their cause, and they have vowed to continue until they reclaim the land that they insist is rightfully theirs. Like most of the other marchers, Ligayao is a member of the San Vicente Landless Farmers Association (SALFA), founded in 2004 in the tiny village of Sumilao, Bukidnon. The rest, many of them parents of SALFA members, are from the farmer’s organization MAPALAD, also based in Sumilao. On 10 October members of both organizations began their long walk to Malacañang, continuing a struggle that has now lasted over a decade, and for many has come to symbolize the failures of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). In the hills of Bukidnon there is a fertile valley flanked by the humble Palaopao Mountains, and naturally irrigated by the Culaman river. In it, nestled between a pineapple orchard and a farming cooperative, is 144 hectares of overgrown mountain foliage patrolled by armed guards. The farmers of MAPALAD and SALFA insist that this land, inhabited until the 1930s by their Higaonon ancestors, belongs to them. In 1995, a Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) was issued by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to 137 members of MAPALAD, covering the entire 144 hectares. A year later, however, at the request of then-landowner Norberto Quisumbing, Ruben Torres, Exeecutive Secretary to President Ramos, issued an order overruling DAR and converting the land designation from agricultural to agro-industrial, thereby protecting it from agrarian reform coverage. The farmers of Sumilao responded with a public plea for justice. Hunger Strike In October 1997, at least 19 members of MAPALAD staged a 28-day hunger strike outside of DAR. Such was the public outcry that the likes of the late Jaime Cardinal Sin and Joseph Estrada, then a candidate for president, paid supportive visits to the hunger strikers. Under mounting public pressure, President Ramos announced a “win-win solution,” in which 100 hectares would be divided among the 137 farmer beneficiaries, and 44 hectares would remain with Quisumbing. The MAPALAD farmers accepted the compromise and returned to Mindanao hopeful about a future tilling their own land. Their hopes were met only with more disappointment. Quisumbing sued, and in 1999 the Supreme Court nullified the compromise solution, finding that the farmers were not beneficiaries but merely “expectant beneficiaries,” thus not “parties in interest” and without legal standing to support their claim to the land in court. Thus, all 144 hectares of land once earmarked for agrarian reform remained the property of Norberto Quisumbing. In 2002, Quisumbing sold the land to San Miguel Foods Inc. (SMFI), which currently owns it. In 2007 the first signs of industrial development on the 144 hectares appeared, as SMFI began building a piggery. More than a decade after the 144 hectares in Sumilao was allotted to the farmers by CARP, MAPALAD, and now SALFA, representing the second generation, have again appealed to the public. But after years of peaceful struggle they have come to see their cause in terms of broad policy changes toward a more just Philippines, rather than as a personal quest for their land alone. “The most important is not the march of the farmers for their own personal interest,” said Johnny, a tall and self-sure member of MAPALAD who stayed behind in Sumilao to take care of his family and the families of those who are marching. “[Our cause] is in the interest of all Filipinos affected by the conversion of prime agricultural land,” he added. “Land is life…if there is no land what will happen to the next generation?” The issue of “conversion of prime agricultural land” is at the center of their cause today. In addition to asking that President Arroyo revoke the conversion order issued by Ruben Torres, the farmers are calling for reform in the CARP as well as its extension. They are also pushing for a National Land Use Law to protect prime agricultural land from conversion to industrial uses. Solid Case Marlon Manuel of the law group SALIGAN, which represents the farmers, said that converting the designation of lands from agricultural to industrial is a common tactic used by landowners to protect their land from coverage under CARP. “A National Land Use Law,” he added, “will set parameters for local governments in reclassification of lands,” and protect the land best suited for agriculture. Though President Arroyo dismissed their request to reverse the Torres conversion order only a day after they began their march, Marlon Manuel believes MAPALAD and SALFA will have a solid case in court. A memorandum dated 27 September 2007 from the DAR office covering Sumilao, states that “the current constructions being conducted and beyond the five (5) years from the approval of the conversion order does not in any way comply with the strict rules governing the implementation of approved Conversion Orders.” Development on the 144 hectares in Sumilao began 8 years after the conversion order became final—three years beyond the time limit prescribed by law. Furthermore, said Manuel, the piggery under construction violates of the rules of the conversion order, as it was not part of the plan in the original application for conversion filed by Quisumbing Both DAR and San Miguel Foods Inc. (SMFI) declined to be interviewed, but the SMFI has released a statement, stating, “The legal claims asserted by parties on the Sumilao Property [have been] dismissed, with finality, by both the Office of the President and the Supreme Court.” The company maintained that construction of the piggery “was implemented in accordance with the terms and conditions of government’s conversion order of the estate from agricultural to agro-industrial.” The farmers of Sumilao have found support for their cause across the country. In Manila, a group of Ateneo students raised money to buy supplies for the marchers. “I care because I see injustice and I know we can do something about it,” said one female student. Street Support The farmers have found support on the road as well. Donations of food and water from passersby are not uncommon, and regional DAR officials have provided meals. Other farmer’s organizations and sympathetic townsfolk have joined the farmers for brief segments of the journey. And the Catholic Church has been instrumental in providing shelter and sustenance to the farmers along the way. Monsignor Balerite, of St. James Parish in Samar, which provided lunch and a place to rest, said, “They’re motive is good, to acquire the land…it is our duty to help the poor, and this is an opportunity we have to do so.” The most important support, however, has come from the Sumilao farmers themselves. At times a marcher has fainted under the heat of the sun, and, committed to completing the journey on foot, the others have carried the fallen. Back home in Sumilao, the community cares for the families of those marching. “The basic needs of the families left behind are taken care of by [us],” said Jonny. “Though some [in the community] cannot give due to lack of produce, we, in our little means, are able to cope.” Back in Sumilao, Joseline, Victor’s sister, sits with her husband Richard and their two young children in a small home of bamboo and earth. Richard helps farm a small plot of corn owned by his father-in-law, and supports his family with a small-scale business selling lighters and pencils. He figures his income to be about P500 a month, and says he has done well this year because he was able to buy electric lights. “What difference [will land ownership make]?], says Richard, plainly, “additional income, because there is land to till.” In Southern Luzon Victor Ligayao continues his long walk to Malacañang. He spoke on the phone with his sister Joseline two weeks earlier. “We’re doing OK,” he said, “people are helping.” Ligayao said that his absence is hard on his family back home, because he is the youngest. With a long way yet to walk, Ligayao said neither he nor the rest have any intention of stopping now. INTERACT WITH THIS ARTICLE
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 28 November 2007 )

< Prev		Next >

[ Back ]

Get to access our archives and premium content. Subscribe to Newsbreak Online for only US$15 a year. How do I Subscribe?

Latest

LOGIN

Follow This Site On

Email Updates

PRINT EDITIONS

(See past issues here.)

2Checkout (2CO) is the authorized online retailer of Newsbreak products. Purchases are made on their website. 2CO does not share with us your credit card details. Click the button below to find out more.

Are you interested in selling your products online through 2CO? Click here to sign up for a vendor account.