Pastor Marvin De Leon, minister of United Methodist Church at the nearby Bgy. Calumpang said that on August 23, as he opened the doors of their chapel, he found a round of M-14 rifle with a note saying, “Isang bala ka lang.”
De Leon has been active in campaigning for the rights of the farmers.
“He [Villafuerte] is really smart, using all his power and influence, using corrupt DAR officials and military to scare off farmers. But certainly he will fail, as the farmers are united,” Flores said.
Probe
The affected farmers have called on the House of Representatives to look into the land grabbing of Villafuerte.
“Rep. Villafuerte, the despotic landlord from Bicol expanded the tentacle of his landgrabbing escapade in Bulacan. This is a political reward to him for his untainted loyalty and dedication to the ruling syndicate in Malacañang,” Danilo Ramos, KMP secretary general, said.
Affected farmers hold a meeting with the delegation of a fact-finding mission organized by KMP.(Photo courtesy of KMP)
Ramos noted that Villafuerte led other pro-Arroyo congressmen in crushing the impeachment complaints filed against Arroyo, and initially sponsored the Charter Change resolution seeking to convene both houses into a Constituent Assembly, which critics said was a ploy to extend the term of Arroyo beyond 2010.
The farmers also called for the a genuine agrarian reform program. “They hold CLT, EPs and CLOAs but the government has no plan of giving them the lands. Instead, the government allows landlords such as Villafuerte to grab their land,” the KMP said. (Bulatlat.com)
