This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VI, No. 7, March 19-25, 2006
CULTURE
Tiklos:
Remembering the Palo Massacre The
cultural group Sinagbayan-Metro Tacloban Chapter, the Promotion of Church
People’s Response (PCPR)-Eastern Visayas and the Tabang Palo (Help Palo)
campaign convenors banded together to produce a stage play depicting the Palo
massacre and the hardships being experienced by farmers. BY
JOHANN HEIN B. ARPON
Tacloban City – The cultural group
Sinagbayan-Metro Tacloban Chapter, the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR)-Eastern
Visayas and the Tabang Palo (Help Palo) campaign convenors banded together to
produce a stage play depicting the Palo massacre and the hardships being
experienced by the farmers. The “Palo Massacre” of Nov.
21, 2005 highlighted the year when Eastern Visayas was under siege after Maj.
Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. was assigned as commanding officer of the 8th
Infantry Battalion and even after he was booted out after a long and arduous
campaign not only from the region but even from the international community. “The Palo massacre is one
of the most infamous incidents in the region that shows the vulnerability of
peasants fighting for their right to land,” said John Rey Rosales, Sinagbayan-Metro
Tacloban president. “Clearly, the tragedy that
befell peasant-members of San Agustin Farmer Beneficiaries Cooperative and its
support group is not an isolated incident. Almost the same is being experienced
by other peasants. Their continued quest for land is tainted with blood and
sacrifices – blood has soiled the land leaving broken dreams, widows and
orphans. Worst of all, when they organize themselves, as mandated and protected
by our Constitution, to effectively fight for their democratic rights, they are
conveniently accused of being members or sympathizers of the New People’s Army (NPA).”
The stage play was titled
Tiklos (communal farming). Mr. Joel Arceo of Bayan Muna-Metro Tacloban
Chapter, one of the sponsors of the stage play, shared: “One such traditional
activity of peasants is that of the “tiklos” or communal farming wherein the
community collectively cultivates the land. Such was the case of the peasants in
Palo, who were about to do a ‘tiklos’ of the land under contention when
they were attacked by soldiers from the 19th Infantry Battalion.” The massacre resulted in
the death of nine peasants including the unborn child of a seven-month pregnant
peasant woman. Numerous peasants were wounded and eight are still languishing in
jail. The production’s aim was to
arouse consciousness and awareness among the people regarding the incident and
also gather support for the victims’ elusive quest for justice. Two play dates were
scheduled for the show. The play dates were March 11 at the Palo Gymnasium,
Palo, Leyte and March 15 at the Gonzaga Hall of the Holy Infant College.
The play was welcomed
enthusiastically as manifested in the audience turn-out and the feedbacks
received. “Indeed, we were able to attain our objective that people are made
aware of the tragedy in Palo and to gather support for the long struggle for
justice of the Palo massacre victims,” Rosales remarked. “The success of the show is
due to the dedication of the performers from different schools and communities,”
Rosales added. The sponsors of the play
are the U.P. Tacloban-based cultural group Socrates, Municipality of Palo
through Mayor Ted Sevilla, Ugop Waraynon (Help Warays), a support group of
people from Samar and Leyte, Friends of Samar and Leyte (FSL), St. Scholastica’s
College of Health and Sciences-Student Council, Bayan Muna (People First),
Katungod-Karapatan, regional human rights alliance, Sagupa-Sinirangan Bisaya, a
regional peasant alliance, DYDW-Radyo Diwa, Leyte-Samar Daily Express, Nature’s
Spring, Community Extension Services-Religious Sisters of Mercy, Innovate
Computer Café, and the Tres Niñas printing press. The organizers dedicated the
play to the peasants of Brgy. San Agustin, Palo, Leyte. Bulatlat © 2006 Bulatlat
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