(Photo by Ruth Lumibao/Bulatlat)
MANILA — After days of travelling, some 2,000 farmers from Bicol and Southern Tagalog reach Manila to converge with their counterpart from other parts of Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao on Oct. 23 for the Pambansang Lakbayan ng mga Magsasaka 2017, the peasant protest caravan.
Farmers’ groups from Mindanao led by the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) have camped out since last week in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Quezon City. Groups from Central Luzon are set to arrive today, Oct. 24.
They come from different parts of the country, with issues special to their communities, but the peasants’ call is the same: to distribute land to the farmers, as promised by decades-long legislations, and to put an end to the killings of farmers and activists.
The peasants will be joined by other sectoral groups in a protest tomorrow, Oct. 25, in Mendiola.
“Maniningil kay Duterte ang libu-libong magsasaka, said KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos.
Text and photo By RUTH LUMIBAO
