For four months of work, Cruz and Gabuco would each have P8,000 while they await for the rest of the crops to be harvested and sold. Though it may not be a huge amount, it would sustain the needs of their families, like their children’s education and emergency situations, as food is already abundant in t@?
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Looking for assistance

Lito Bais, ULWU steward and bungkalan leader, said that union leaders and other people’s organizations like the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon (AMGL or Alliance of Farmers in Central Luzon) in the village are seeking the help and assistance of the national government, particularly the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). They asked for farm equipment and seedlings.

Though the DENR has granted their request, corruption in the local level of governance, particularly in the barangays, deprived the farmers of the assistance such tools and materials can provide. The dilawans (pertaining to the rogue supporters of the Cojuangco) allegedly sold the equipment and seedlings, leaving the farmers nothing. And if the machines have not been sold, they were just stored away, the officials refusing to let them use it.

Continue to plough

Though the dream of self-sustaining villages across the Hacienda is still far from being realized, it is without a doubt that the foundations are being laid. The fact that 20 families in Asturias alone are involved in collective farming, with a lot more expected to join them in the coming summer months, is proof that indeed land can give and nourish life.

As Bais said, there are still a lot of idle lands waiting to be cultivated. As they are waiting for the government to finally hand them the land titles promised to them, they would not let the rich soil be left unattended. Rodolfo said, “Tiyaga lang talaga. (Patience is all it takes).”

And such a claim echoes throughout the village, that each problem could be overcome, one tilled hectare at a time. (Bulatlat.com)

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