Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Vol. IV, No. 32 September 12-18, 2004 Quezon City, Philippines |
Violence
Mars Land Reform Implementation in Negros In
Negros, unless the government and the agrarian department in particular,
stand sincere and consistent in their commitment to the disbandment of
land monopoly, the farmers will continue to face the violence of the
powerful and armed landlords, and will therefore, be forced to fight back. By
Karl G. Ombion Villagers look (right) at the corpse (left) of 59-year-old land reform beneficiary Teresita Mameng, slain last Sept. 3. Photo courtesy of TFM LA
CARLOTA CITY -- Teresa Mameng, 59 years old, a holder of Certificate of
Land Ownership Agreement (CLOA) in the 132-hectare Hacienda Conchita
Villanueva in Barangay Sag-ang, La Castellana, 80 kms southeast of Bacolod
City, was shot dead allegedly by armed goons of hacienda owner Mario
Villanueva last September 3. She was the 15th person killed due to
agrarian-related violence in Negros since the year 2000. At
around 11:30 p.m. of September 3, 14 armed men fired at the makeshift
homes of agrarian reform beneficiaries or CLOA holders in the hacienda.
According to witnesses presented by Task Force Mapalad, the
organization of agrarian reform beneficiaries from Conchita Villanueva,
the armed men, allegedly led by Juanito Suriaga, trusted keeper of the
hacienda, indiscriminately fired at the houses while the farmers and their
children were asleep. Witnesses
said that the farmers and their families scampered in different
directions. Mameng, they said, was hit in the chest but managed to run to
a nearby sugarcane field. She may have bled to death - her body was found
by relatives and friends at dawn the next day. Mario
Diaz, counsel of GV and Sons Inc., the company owned by Mario Villanueva,
denied that his client maintains “armed goons” in the hacienda.
He claimed that his client employs legitimate security guards from
the Tuguis Security Agency. He
added that the CLOAs being held by the farmers were under question.
According to him, the Regional Trial Court of La Carlota City has
granted the petition of GV and Sons Inc. for a writ of preliminary
injunction enjoining the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the Land
Bank of the Philippines (LBP) to cease and desist from placing the
hacienda under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL). The
DAR appealed the decision but the Court of Appeals recently denied the
appeal for lack of merit. Jimmy
Mameng, son of Teresa, however slammed the owners of Conchita Villanueva
saying, “They have always been desperate to remove us from the land and
put instead their own favored farm workers to maintain their hold on the
lands already covered by CARL”. The
provincial government and the local police of La Castellana vowed to give
justice to Mameng and other victims. New DAR Secretary Rene Villa said
that despite the incident, land reform implementation will continue.
Newly-elected congressman of the 5th District of Negros Occidental,
Ignacio Arroyo, promised to help solve the problem while ensuring that the
rights of landowners will also be protected. Edna
Sobrecaray, spokesperson of Task Force Mapalad, said that “Every time
farmers stand up for their rights and claim their rights to the land,
landowners quickly respond with violence.” She challenged Rep. Arroyo,
Villa, landowner Villanueva and the national police not to whitewash the
case and to immediately put an end to the violence marring agrarian
disputes. 15
killed Bulatlat
research reveals that since 2000, 15 agrarian reform beneficiaries were
killed and 57 were wounded as a result of agrarian-related violence in
Negros Occidental.
Added to this, 39 farmers were illegally arrested. Since
2000 to the present, 58 criminal and civil cases have been filed against
more than 3,000 farmers in 45 haciendas placed under or already covered by
CARP. Among
the cases filed against agrarian reform beneficiaries by landowners
include forcible/unlawful entry, attempted murder and malicious mischief,
and usurpation of real property.
Likewise, administrative cases, petitions for the cancellation of
land titles, and injunctions have also been filed. These cases exclude
beneficiary inclusion/exclusion proceedings pending with the DAR. Months
earlier, the CLOAs of farmers in the neighboring 145-hectare Hacienda
Malaga-Cuenca were declared null and void by the RTC of La Carlota.
This decision was subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeals. A
source from Task Force Mapalad said that cases filed by agrarian reform
beneficiaries against landowners and their cohorts rarely prosper in court
despite the identification of perpetrators by witnesses. Local police are
apparently reluctant to pursue cases against landowners. In several
instances, such as in the case of Hacienda Conchita Villanueva, the farmer
victims found themselves being charged by the police instead. Unresolved
cases Among
the unresolved cases were the murder of Tay Trabajador of Toboso, Negros
Occidental in 2000; the ambush and shooting in 2001 of farmer
beneficiaries of Hacienda Kasuco in Kabankalan allegedly by armed goons
and farmers loyal to a leaseholder group of landowners; the killing of
Ronilo Vasquez and wounding of two other beneficiaries in Hacienda
Cambuktot, La Castellana allegedly by goons of former landowner Farley
Gustilo in February 2001; the mauling of an ABS-CBN News Channel cameraman
who was covering the farmer-beneficiaries’ legal claim to portions of
Hacienda Velez Malaga in La Castellana in November 2002 allegedly by goons
of land owner Roberta Cuenca; the mauling of a beneficiary in Hacienda
Carmenchika, Pontevedra allegedly by the encargado mayor (trusted
keeper) and goons of landowner Kitchie Benedicto on November 2002; the
shooting and hacking of two beneficiaries allegedly by goons of landowner
Mario Villanueva in Hacienda Conchita Villanueva, La Castellana in
December 2002; the attack on farmer-beneficiaries in Hacienda Esperanza,
La Carlota on March 6, 2003, resulting in the death of a beneficiary and
wounding of two others alleged by goons of landowner Kitchie Benedicto;
the ambush and shooting of a beneficiary in Hacienda Sto. Rosario on March
13 allegedly by goons of the Lizares-Lopez Development Corporation; the
shooting to death of CLOA holder Indak Espartero allegedly by goons and
loyalists of the Miguel J. Lacson Corporation in Hacienda San Benito,
Barangay Crossing Magallon, Moises Padilla last May 3, 2003; the shooting
of Ronito Boltron, 25, at the 103-hectare Hacienda Mulawin in Sagay City
allegedly by guards and farmers loyal to
landowner Antonio Lopez and farm manager Joseph Lacson on January
5, 2004. Richard
Sarrosa, chairperson of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas- Negros
(Peasant Movement in the Philippines-Negros chapter) told Bulatlat
that “agrarian-related violence is bound to escalate because the whole
structure of our semi-feudal economy is inherently biased and violent
against the farmers”. The
big hacienderos and landlord-compradors in Negros are strongly backed by
government authorities, the military, the Philippine National Police and
by paramilitary groups such as the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex
Boncayao Brigade, and the local courts. They can easily reverse the
decisions of the DAR or eject farmer beneficiaries from the land anytime
they want,” he added. Sarrosa stressed that unless the government and the DAR in particular, stand sincere and consistent in their commitment to the disbandment of land monopoly, the farmers will continue to face the violence of the powerful and armed landlords, and will therefore, be forced to fight back. Bulatlat We want to know what you think of this article.
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