This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 46, January 1-7, 2006
Yearend Report
PEASANT
Peasants Suffer in 2005, Brace for Worst in 2006
Various controversies plagued
the agricultural sector in 2005 and peasants do not see an end in the immediate
future. In fact, they are bracing for the worst in 2006.
BY AUBREY SC MAKILAN Past surveys showed
hardship among the poor in 2004 and signs of desperation in 2005. No less than
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, after all, admitted that the country is in a
state of fiscal crisis.
Danilo Ramos, secretary-general of the Kilusang
Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP, Peasant Movement of the Philippines), said that
those hardly hit by the crisis are peasants in the countryside who remain
landless and oppressed. KMP data showed that more than 35 percent of the total
workforce of the country is with the agricultural sector, excluding those
working in agriculture-based industries and services.
Last Christmas season, Ramos said that very few
people in the provinces decorated their homes with Christmas lanterns. There
were fewer people who spent for the traditional feasts of noche buena
(December 24) and media noche (December 31). Controversies In 2005, various
controversies plagued the agricultural sector. The anomalies surrounding
the controversial P728-million
fertilizer funds were uncovered
in 2005. It may be recalled that the Department of Agriculture (DA) released the
funds in February 2004. The KMP believes that the
fertilizer funds were used for Arroyo’s presidential campaign. KMP members
submitted sworn statements to the Senate and the Citizen’s Congress for Truth
and Accountability confirming that they have not received any fertilizers or
money from the said allocation. The Citizen’s Congress put the President on
trial in November where Ramos participated as an “expert witness” to testify on
the issue. For its part, the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food conducted
public hearings in October 2005. The Commission on Audit (COA)
reported that the DA’s list of recipients included 105 legislators, 53 governors
and 23 municipal mayors. According to COA, however, 104 legislators, 46
governors and 34 mayors were the actual recipients. During the Senate hearings,
four of the eight non-government organizations listed as beneficiaries of the
fertilizer funds were found to be not registered with the Securities and
Exchange Commissions (SEC) and the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).
Killings and harassment As in the past, the year
2005 saw peasants being killed and harassed for fighting for their rights. Among those killed in 2005
was Victor Concepcion. He was a peasant leader of the Aguman da reng
Maglalautang Capampangan (AMC or Alliance of Kapampangan Farmers), the local
chapter of KMP in Pampanga. Concepcion was gunned down in his daughter’s house
in Angeles City (83 kms north of Manila) on March 17. In Eastern Visayas alone,
there were at least 23 peasants killed and 16 abducted. The most recent was the
so-called
November 21 dawn massacre in
Barangay (village) San Agustin, Palo, Leyte (located in the Visayas). Seven
farmers died, including a seven-month old pregnant woman, when soldiers of the
19th Infantry Battalion and the 8th Infantry Division fired at them. The
soldiers were armed with M-16 rifles and grenade launchers. Gains According to Ramos,
peasants are unfazed by the attacks launched against them. The agricultural
workers of Hacienda Luisita best exemplified such unwavering resolve to fight
for their rights. In spite of the massacre at
the picket line on Nov. 16, 2004 that killed seven strikers and injured several
others, workers of the Central Azucarera De Tarlac Labor Union (CATLU) and
United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU)
cultivated portions of idle land
in the Hacienda Luisita plantation in June 2005 to produce food crops and stave
off hunger during the rainy season. Around 300 hectares have been made
productive by both the plantation and sugar mill workers. Another victory was the
Presidential Agrarian Reform Council’s (PARC) decision last Dec. 13 revoking the
“stock distribution option” (SDO) in Hacienda Luisita. While the KMP sees this
as a positive development, the group is planning to appeal that other parts of
the hacienda be included like the 577 hectares converted and sold by the
Cojuangcos and the 77 hectares allocated for the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway
Project. Ramos said that these lands
were included in the petition that they submitted in 2003, as well as with the
total coverage of the SDO. Still no land The issue of landlessness
remains the primary concern in the countryside. Based on KMP data, 60
percent of agricultural lands are owned by only 13 percent of total land owners.
Big landlords like the families of Cojuangco, Ayala, Floreindo, Zobel, Yulo and
Roxas own more than 20 percent of the total agricultural lands. Despite this, the President
has declared in her 2004 state of the nation address that around one to two
hectares would be allotted for agri-business purposes. Partners to this project
are Nestle Philippines, Inc. (for coffee), Dole Philippines, Inc. (for
pineapple) and San Miguel Corporation (for cassava crops). Ramos said that according
to DA officials, 10 percent of the targeted 457,000 hectares have already been
cultivated for this purpose. Southern Tagalog, Cordillera, Cagayan Valley, and
some parts of Mindanao were the identified areas for this project. He stressed
that farmers will be displaced if the government’s plan pushes through. Worsening condition While economic crisis has
affected the peasant in 2005, Ramos said that the KMP expects the worst in 2006. However, with the “unstable
and weakening political foundation” of the current administration and “the
growing discontent of the people,” Ramos still sees hope to finally succeed in
ousting the highest official of the land whom he described as “anti-people.”
Bulatlat © 2006 Bulatlat
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