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FASTING AND HUNGER STRIKE FOR LAND AND
JUSTICE
OUR IMMEDIATE DEMANDS:
1. PULL-OUT OF MILITARY AND POLICE IN THE FARMING COMMUNITIES PARTICULARLY
IN HACIENDA YULO & HACIENDA LOOC
1. Ha. Yulo – since June 14 1 Pt (30-elements) of PNP-Regional Mobile
Group to conduct “Brigada Eskwela” & since June 18 & 27 40-Elements of
Phil. Army 202nd Brigade under the command of a certain Major Villanueva
to conduct “Medical Mission”
2. Ha. Looc / District 1 / Province of Batangas – total estimate of
7-Batallions composite of PAF 740th & 730th combat group in Nasugbu + 16th
IB Charlie Coy in Ha. Zobel in Calatagan (same group in Mindoro under the
command of Ret.Gen. J. Palparan), 54th IB in Balayan, particulary
operating the command of CAFGUs in the locality
2. ALLOW THE TRANSPORT & SELLING OF
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS IN MILITARIZED COMMUNITIES
1. Ha. Yulo – from the directive of Yulo Estate their private guards are
restricting the farmers from transporting their coconut and other
agricultural products (since mid-June up to present)
3. CANCELLATION OF ALL CONVERSION ORDERS OF
AGRICULTURAL LANDS
4. STOP THE CRIMINALIZATION OF AGRARIAN CASES
5. JUNK TRUMPED-UP CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST THE FARMERS
1. Ha. Yulo – 7 farmers were charged with Direct Assault & Grave coercion
after the May 21 dispersal of the local Bantayan (camp-out) in Sitio
Buntog, Bgy. Canluban. Criminal charges undergoing Priliminary
Investigation before the Calamba City Trial Court
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MEDIA ADVISORY
Hacienda Yulo farmers currently being denied of their rights to land and
livelihood inside the 7,100 hectare prime agricultural land which is set
for all-out land use conversion are urging President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy"
Aquino III to act with dispatch and favorably on the demand they submitted
to Palace three weeks ago asking the President to immediately distribute
the lands to tillers for free and pullout of a platoon of PNP-Regional
Mobile Group & Philippine Army inside the Yulo estate.
To dramatize their plight for land and justice, 7 farmers of Hacienda Yulo
together with their supporters and agrarian reform advocates will stage an
indefinite FAST and HUNGER STRIKE at the gate of the Department of
Agrarian Reform (DAR). The dramatic action will start on
JULY 22, THURSDAY
10:00 AM
DEPARTMENT OF AGRARIAN REFORM
Media Coverage is Requested
For reference: Roy Morilla of KMP (09074180098) and Kasama-TK secretary
general
Axel Pinpin (09291359636)
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PRESS RELEASE
July 22, 2010
Reference: Roy Morilla, KMP Public Information Officer (0907-418-0098)
Canlubang estate's 7,100 hectare up for conversion
Hacienda Yulo farmers warn Aquino of hunger strike if he fails to resolve
land row
Hacienda Yulo farmers in Barangay Canlubang, Calamba City in Laguna today
warned President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III of a brewing
indefinite hunger strike if Malacanang fails to act on their three demands
submitted barely a week after the 50-year old bachelor official assumed
the presidency.
The three demands submitted to Malacanang by Hacienda Yulo farmers
identified with the Kalipunan ng mga Samahang Magbubukid ng Timog
Katagalugan (Kasama-TK) put to task President Aquino to stop the ongoing
land use conversion of 7,100 hectare former sugar estate owned by the Yulo
family, immediate and unconditional distribution of prime agricultural
lands to farmer beneficiaries and the pull out of a platoon sized Army
troop inside the Canlubang estate.
For a start, about five Hacienda Yulo farmers led sympathy fast today in
preparation for a daring hunger strike which would take effect anytime
between next week and weeks to come. The fast and the soon-to-be staged
hunger strike for land and justice is part of the 100-day peasant camp-out
in the National Capital Region, which is now on its 21st day since
Aquino's inauguration on June 30.
The protesting farmers were joined by peasant activists from Laguna, Rizal
and Cavite and leaders of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), the
fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas
(Pamalakaya) and supporters from other cause-oriented groups and agrarian
reform advocacy groups at the gate of the Department of Agrarian Reform
(DAR) national office in Quezon City.
"President Aquino is not listening to the legitimate cry and agrarian
demands of Hacienda Yulo farmers and this is the real score at the moment.
Until now, there is no presidential instruction from the Office of the
President for DAR to act swiftly on the demands submitted to Aquino's
office early this month. How long it would take him before he makes a
decisive move in favor the Yulo farmers? One year? 50 years?", said
Kasama-TK secretary general Axel Pinpin.
Pinpin said the official response of President Aquino so far was the
violent demolition of peasant camp-out in Mendiola Bridge and the
dispersal of striking farmers on July 3 that led to the mass arrest of 41
farmer activists and the injury of 13 other Southern Tagalog activists.
" So far this is the concrete step taken by Aquino as far as the agrarian
issues surrounding Hacienda Yulo is concerned and for the farmers the act
is simply incorrigible and extremely reprehensible," the Kasama-TK
official said.
At least seven cases of agrarian disputes mostly from Southern Tagalog
region were presented on July 16 to newly installed Agrarian reform
Secretary Virgilio delos Reyes.
Among the land dispute cases involving land use conversions, cancellations
of Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) and eviction of farmer
beneficiaries include the 8,650 hectare Hacienda Looc in Nasugbu, Batangas
which has been primed for eco-tourism projects and the 7,100 hectare prime
agricultural land in Barangay Canlubang, Calamba City in Laguna province.
The other cases of agrarian disputes presented during the dialogue with
DAR secretary include land reform reversals and land use conversions in
Dasmarinas and Silang in Cavite province, the seedling projects in
Montalban, Rizal and the conversion of Araneta owned lands in Barangay
Tungkong Mangga in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.
In that dialogue peasant leaders of Kasama-TK and KMP asked the new
agrarian reform secretary to immediately issue cease and desist orders to
big landlords and real estate developers to effectively halt all land use
conversions and indefinitely suspend all these activities to prepare the
stage for a comprehensive review of these lands currently embroiled in
legal, political and moral disputes between the farmers and the big
landlords in Southern Tagalog region.
"The Southern Tagalog region has become the laboratory for land reform
reversals, land reform denials and land use conversions since the
Calabarzon days of former President Ferdinand Marcos. Hundreds of
thousands of prime agricultural lands have been subjected to automatic
control of big landlords and were primed for land use conversions at the
expense of land reform beneficiaries and other land tillers across the
region," they noted.
Citing a report filed by Ibon Foundation, KMP spokesperson Antonio Flores
said as of December 2006, DAR has cancelled at least 108,141 CLOAs and
Emancipation Patents (EPs) involving 204,579 hectares. CLOA and EP
cancellations are increased by 3,790% from 1995 data of 2,780, while land
area increased by 1,162% from 16, 213 hectares. Of the cancellations,
majority or 87% were due to subdivision of mother-CLOAs into individual
CLOAs. It involved about 82% of the lands to 167,486 hectares.#
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Luisita farmers say – “Judicial gas pedal needed on Luisita”
Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac - Farm workers belonging to the United Luisita
Wokers' Union expressed optimism on the high courts decision to put
Hacienda Luisita land issue on their August 3 session, urging the en banc
to finally to put closure on the highly controversial case.
According to Lito Bais, ULWU acting chair, "The high court should put more
judicial gas pedal for the speedy resolution of the case. For the past
four years under their watch, Hacienda Luisita case took a slow phase
despite clamors from Luisita farm worker beneficiaries and its supporters
to lift the Temporary Restraining Order to allow physical land
distribution take place. On June 10, we passed an open letter to the newly
installed Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona asking him to take a
swift action of our case. And on June 24, the high court responded
positively by deciding for the re-opening of the case".
He added that "This was followed by an April 13, 2010 decision denying
with fanality the motion of big sugar planters for a reconsideration
asking for the exemption of sugar state land for distribution dated March
10, 2007 which included Hacienda Luisita, this only shows a favorable or
if not a hint of what is coming this August 3. But still we don't want to
expect higher than what is on the table, as long as the case is still
pending, we are on guard monitoring and planning for our next move wether
the high court en banc heed our call or not".
In 2005, the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council [PARC] revoked the Stock
Distribution Option [SDO] option scheme in Hacienda Luisita and ordered
its distribution to farm worker beneficiaries. But in June 2006, the
Cojuangco-Aquino family filed a Temporary Restraining Order citing PARC's
lack of jurisdiction. Until now the TRO is still in effect.
"The August 3 Supreme Court en banc would be a test of judicial will under
the stewardship of Cheif Justice Corona to undertake a case involving the
Philippines presidents's family state. This is a high stake case, no
matter the court modestly considered it as "ordinary" the fact remains
that this would be a potential precedent to all land dispute cases through
out the country is concern". Bais ended#### |
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PRESS RELEASE
July 16, 2010
Reference: Roy Morilla, KMP Public Information Officer (0907-418-0098)
Farmers urge DAR Sec to stop massive CLOA cancellations
The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP, Peasant Movement of
the Philippines) and Katipunan ng mga Samahang Magbubukid sa Timog
Katagalugan (KASAMA-TK) urged newly-appointed Dept. of Agrarian Reform
Secretary Virgilio "Gil" Delos Reyes to stop massive cancellations of
Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) primarily pushed by big
landlords, real estate developers and foreign investors.
"New DAR Sec. Delos Reyes inherited the biggest problem of the country,
the agrarian unrest that is transpiring all over the country for decades.
We urge him to act on the side of the farmers and not of the big landlords
and foreign investors," said Antonio Flores, KMP Spokesperson.
KMP and its regional chapters nationwide have been campaigning for genuine
land reform since the administration of former president Cory Aquino,
though they have been victims of the Mendiola Massacre on January 22,
1987. Then, they were calling for a genuine land reform program but they
were fired upon by government forces killing 13 peasant activists. The
following year, the Republic Act 6657 or Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program (CARP) was enacted, including the Stock Distribution Option (SDO)
that was implemented in the Cojuangco-Aquino- controlled Hacienda Luisita
in Tarlac.
"Massacre, killings and abuse on peasants were due to their struggle for
land such as what happened at the Hacienda Luisita massacre in November
16, 2004 when the agri-workers and farmers went on strike for decent
working conditions and revocation of the SDO," Flores said.
"Sec. Delos Reyes could do significant change to thwart further agrarian
unrest. He could start by helping the farmers of Southern Tagalog, who are
presently being harassed by private armies, government forces and other
elements employed by the big landlords," he added.
KMP and KASAMA-TK are to hold a series of dialogues regarding on agrarian
cases including Hacienda Yulo in Calamba, Laguna, Hacienda Looc in Nasugbu,
Batangas, Ramos `lands' in Dasmarinas, Cavite, Ciudad Nuevo, KPPI and
Cathay `lands' in Silang, Cavite, Sitio Seedling lands in Montalban,
Araneta `lands' in Bgy. Tungkong Mangga, San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.
"Most of these cases have pending petitions for exemptions filed by big
landlords, coinciding with the systematic harassments on peasants to leave
their farms such as Hacienda Yulo, where farmers are prohibited to
transport out their products and elements of the police mobile groups and
military are deployed at the area," Flores said.
CLOA and EP Cancellations
In addition, Ibon Foundation researched that as of December 2006, DAR has
cancelled at least 108,141 CLOAs and Emancipation Patents (EPs) involving
204,579 hectares. CLOA and EP cancellations are increased by 3,790% from
1995 data of 2,780, while land area increased by 1,162% from 16, 213
hectares.
Of the cancellations, majority or 87% were due to subdivision of mother-CLOAs
into individual CLOAs. It involved about 82% of the lands to 167,486
hectares.
In addition, the Sentro para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo Foundation (SENTRA),
the lawyers group that handles agrarian cases including Hacienda Luisita,
said that they have presently 205 agrarian cases from Central Luzon,
Southern Tagalog, Northern Luzon, Bicol and Panay regions. Atty. Jobert
Pahilga, SENTRA Executive Trustee said that about half came from Southern
Tagalog, mostly from Batangas reaching to 54 cases.
Atty. Pahilga said that farmers tend to lose the case at DAR Adjudication
Board (DARAB), Regional Trial Court (RTC) and the Supreme Court (SC) even
material evidences are sufficient but opposed to big landlords such as
Zobel-Ayalas, Roxas, Yulos, Aranetas, Cojuangcos, Puyat family, big-time
real-estate developers as Henry Sy, Sobrepenas, and traditional
politicians as the Revillas, Remullas, Enriles, Mitras, Villafuerte. The
farmers are also against foreign corporations such as Kuok Properties;
including traditional and despotic landlords in the remote rural areas in
the country such as the Dolors and Lopezes of Batangas, Don Domingo Reyes
of Quezon, among many others.
Thus, KMP, KASAMA-TK and SENTRA are urging Sec. Delos Reyes to look
closely on agrarian cases that should have benefitted the farmers.
"He should be daring enough to oppose big and influential landlords as the
provisions of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with
`Reforms' (CARPer) are on their side. If he continues to serve their side,
his stay at the department would be restless and he should expect more and
more protests in front of his office," Flores said. #
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