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Farmers organizations warned that agricultural land conversion and large-scale development projects could displace farming communities, threaten food production and undermine farmers' access to land.
The Super El Niño, land-use conversion and human rights abuses are among the key issues aggravating the plight of rural folk.
"Farmers have been promised land reform for decades, yet actual tillers remain excluded from the land they cultivate,”
“There are still genetically modified crops that are still being forced to be introduced and tried to plant in our farms even though for several decades it has been proven that it poses many risks and diseases."
Our policemen should not be involved since this is a land dispute.
"The threat of El Niño is predictable. What is unacceptable is the government's refusal to act decisively despite years of warning."
“For decades, land ownership on Negros Island has remained concentrated in the hands of a small number of elite families."
A state university and 1,500 farmers are locked in a dispute over 600 hectares of farm.
“Who would not be afraid of that situation? Is the PNP aware of DAR matters? Of course, we are just human. We felt terrified.:
“For the months that they were in Barangay Salamanca, Errol reported that 18-hectares of land being cultivated by 16 peasant worker families, or 32 individuals, should have long been awarded to the farm workers. Based on Errol’s research, the person controlling the land only holds a tax declaration, not title."
“This success in Dupax del Norte is a success against mining all over the Philippines."
Rising costs of food prices and daily living expenses make farmers more vulnerable to destitution, cyclical debt, and landlessness.
The role of women, particularly mothers, has been vital in the community’s resistance. They juggle child care, livelihood and their tasks at the barricade.
The experiences of women farmers and indigenous women illustrate the intersection of economic exploitation and gender inequality in rural areas.
The TWG reflects the Marcos administration’s continued reliance on liberalized rice imports instead of pursuing policies that protect farmers and promote local production.
“For decades, farm-to-market roads have been an automatic source of profit for politicians, contractors, and corrupt government officials. Even before flood control projects and dikes, FMRs were already the original scheme for plundering agriculture funds, with huge budgets, no accountability, and farmers always losing out."
After over 70 years of cultivating the land and staying in the community, the members of the Portico Banasi Household Farmers Association (PORBAHFA) and other residents are facing threats of eviction and worries about their livelihood.
According to PORBAHFA, there were legitimate residents in the community when Bicol landlord Conrado Colarina purchased the land.
On January 4, 2026, Ana Brizuela, 64, was forced to return home in Sitio Portico, Barangay Fabrica, Bula, Camarines Sur from Manila after receiving phone calls that she was among the residents ordered to evacuate their residence by virtue of a local court ruling.
Bamboo poles, scrap wood, and tarpaulins are simple materials turned into symbols of resistance.
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