Pedro Arnado, chairperson of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas Southern Mindanao says in a news conference last March 10, 2017 that declaring Martial Law in Mindanao to address the problem of terrorism and drugs will only ignite uprising of the farmers who will be victimized by indiscriminate bombing and human rights violations. (Earl O. Condeza/davaotoday.com)
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte’s promises of change appear to be running shy of expectations, at least for farmer leader Pedro Arnado, chairperson of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas Southern Mindanao Region.
In a phone interview with Davao Today, Arnado said the living condition of farmers in general have either remained the same, or have gone worse. Arnado in particular scored Duterte’s declaration of all out war in the countryside and the Martial Law.
“Kaning administrasyong Digong sa pagkakaron, dagko kinig kadaot didto sa mga mag-uuma, nakapdaghan sa mga gipangdakop, mga tumo tumong kaso sa han-ay sa mga mag-uuma. Gani karon sa SMR, duna nay 43 nga namatay, ug 90 kapin ang nabilanggo, gihimu-ghimuan ug kaso”
(This [Duterte] administration right now, has caused great harm to the farmers, who are now increasingly being jailed for spurious cases. For example, here in SMR, 43 have died, and more than 90 are in jail because of trumped up charges), he said.
Arnado said they have documented several cases of their members being arrested without warrants — a result of the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.
Arnado himself, along with Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura spokesperson Lito Lao, KMP North Cotabato spokesperson Jerry Alborme, and Karapatan Southern Mindanao Region Secretary General Hanimay Suazo were accosted at the Task Force Davao checkpoint in Lasang on Wednesday.
All four were eventually released.
“Nahitabo gani na sa amoa nga mga lider mag-uuma, unsa na lang sa among mga yanong miyembro” (It happened to us, who were known farmer leaders, what more to our ordinary members), he said.
Read related story: Task Force Davao says activists held for being ‘suspicious’
Four activists are held in a military checkpoint in Lasang, Davao City on Wednesday night, June 28. From L-R: Hanimay Suazo, Secretary General of Karapatan-Southern Mindanao Region , Jerry Alborme, secretary general of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas in North Cotabato, Lito Lao, spokesperson of Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura in Southern Mindanao and Pedro Arnado, chairperson of KMP in Southern Mindanao region. (Photo by Bong Artil/Kilab Multimedia)
Arnado also noted that the vast majority of farmers in the country remain landless, owing to the hold of the ‘oligarchs’ that Duterte himself frequently cursed in speeches.
Arnado was quick to retort that the recent reinstallation of the Madaum Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Incorporated in the San Isidro Farm in Madaum, Tagum City was a result of the collective efforts of the farmers themselves.
Arnado said that the farmers had to go to Manila to drum up attention to their case against the Lapanday Foods Corporation, which refused to relinquish control of the disputed farmland, despite orders from Department of Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano.
At one point, Arnado and Mariano were both leaders of the KMP, Mariano being its national chairperson in 2015.
Read related story: MARBAI farmers reclaim contested land in Tagum
More than a hundred agrarian reform beneficiaries wait for their installation outside the disputed San Isidro farm area in Barangay San Isidro, Tagum City. Their installation was postponed for the second time on Friday, April 21, 2017 as the guards inside the plantation refused to receive the installation order from the Department of Agrarian Reform. (Zea Io Ming C. Capistrano/davaotoday.com)
The 49-year old farmer leader also lamented the current course of the peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front and the government. Arnado said he stands by his assessment that only the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms would solve landlessness in the country.
The CASER is said to be the most contentious agenda in the peace negotiations between the communists and the government, as it will tackle, among others, massive redistribution of land.
Recent pronouncements from both negotiating sides indicate that progress has been slow. In a statement, NDF Chief Political Consultant Jose Maria Sison said that the peace process was “heading to the rocks.”
So far, Duterte has not yet “walked the talk” in terms of implementing genuine land reform, Arnado said. (davaotoday.com)
