Farmers demand agrarian reform, end to farmer killings in Lakbay Magsasaka
After camping outside the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for nine days, around 4,000 farmers from all over the country trooped to UST last Wednesday, Oct. 25, in culmination of the Pambansang Lakbayan ng mga Magsasaka para sa Lupa at Laban sa Pasismo.
Joined by various progressive groups, farmers marched along España Blvd. to demand “genuine” agrarian reform policies promised by President Rodrigo Duterte and to protest the killings of activist farmers under his administration.
The groups assembled at Welcome Rotonda where they held a symbolic meeting of peasants and workers in commemoration of the centennial year of the Soviet October Revolution as they highlighted the need for unity among the working class.
As the groups marched from Welcome Rotonda, UST welcomed 100 farmer-leaders from the caravan in a solidarity mass at the Santisimo Rosario Parish celebrated by Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez Jr., co-convenor of the Coalition for Land, Against Martial law and Oppression.
The groups then camped outside the University for a solidarity lunch with students and the farmer-leaders before proceeding to Mendiola.
Speaking before the peasant groups, UST Simbahayan Community Development Office Director Mark Anthony Abenir urged support for the rights of farmers.
“Kami po ay nakikidalamhati sa mga pamilya’t mahal sa buhay na namatayan na magsasaka. Napaka-importante ng mga magsasaka sa Pilipinas; sila ang bumbuhay sa mga nasa siyudad, pagdating sa pagkain, pagdating sa mga pangangailangan natin sa pang-araw-araw,” Abenir stated in an interview with TomasinoWeb.
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) Chairman and former DAR Secretary Rafael Mariano stated that the Makabayan bloc is one with the farmers in their calls for justice.
“Kami [sa Makabayan bloc] ay nakikiisa sa panawagan na ‘stop the killing of the farmers’ at siyempre, ang pananawagan sa hustisya para sa lahat ng biktima ng pulitikal at extrajudicial killings,” Mariano said in an exclusive interview with TomasinoWeb.
Human rights group Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights recorded the killings of 91 activist farmers from July 2016 to Sept. 2017, the first 14 months of Duterte’s term.
Karapatan also claims that, as of Aug. 31, some 81 farmers have been killed out of 88 victims of extrajudicial killings in the country.
Mariano, moreover, urged the execution of “genuine” agrarian reform.
“Hindi magkakaroon ng pundamental na repormang panlipunan at ekonomiya kung hindi mapapatupad ang tunay na repormang agraryo at pambansang industralisasyon,” he added.
The former secretary mentioned that “genuine” agrarian reform can only be achieved through cutback of land taxes, increase in the price of farmers’ products and the wages of the farm workers, and development in the production of goods.
“Until now thousands of hectares of land are under the control of hacienderos,” Anakpawis Partylist Representative Ariel Casilao, who was also present in the rally, said in a gathering of farmers in Naga City last Oct. 23.
Farmers demanded for the passage of House Bill No. 555 or the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill, which was filed by Casilao along with other members of the Makabayan bloc.
The bill seeks to distribute free land to tillers and would cover all agricultural lands, regardless of crops.
Abenir, meanwhile, stated that UST Simbahayan would continue to support movements for human rights.
“Patuloy [ang] pag-suporta sa mga kilusan na kung saan pinapahalagahan ang karapatan ng mga tao para mabuhay. Ito lang din naman ang palaging panawagan ng Simabahan na tayo ay maging Simbahan para sa mga mahihirap, para sa mga naaapi,” he said.
Pambansang Lakbayan ng mga Magsasaka para sa Lupa at Laban sa Pasismo was held in commemoration of Peasant Month. Simultaneous protests were also held in Cebu, Davao, Cagayan De Oro, Iloilo, and Surigao. — A.O, P.J.
