LEGAL COUNSELS. Atty. Joel Mahinay from the Union of People’s Lawyers in Mindanao says the farmers who were charged after the violent dispersal in Kidapawan City have to prepare themselves for the case. 78 farmers were granted temporary liberty after posting a total of P559,200 bail bond which were sourced from concerned showbiz personalities and private groups. (Contributed photo).
DAVAO CITY – Some of the farmers who were ‘illegally detained’ and temporarily freed in Kidapawan City over the weekend will speak before the Senate on Wednesday, April 20.
The said farmers, who were arrested after the violent dispersal last April 1, according to Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) in North Cotabato, are going to testify “how the police abused their authority over their detention and arrest.”
The violent dispersal led to one farmer and one bystander killed when the government personnel started firing.
KMP North Cotabato Spokesperson Jerry Alborme said, “they were shot, arrested, and beaten by the police over a demand that was legitimate and badly needed.”
“Our struggle is not just about the neglect of the state to give food subsidy. This time it is about the government’s brutal response to poor farmers,” Alborme said.
The farmers who are now temporarily freed include three pregnant women, seven of them elderly. The other ten suffered from gunshot wounds.
Alborme’s group blamed the local and provincial government of Cotabato and police over the said incident last April 1.
“We also hold agriculture secretary Proceso Alcala and President (Benigno Aquino) accountable for not acting immediately on the rice crisis and on the trampling of our rights,” Alborme said.
The Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights will hold its second hearing at 1:00 pm on Wednesday.
The farmers will be accompanied by their lawyers from the National Union of People’s Lawyers, the Public Interest Law Center (PILC), and the Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM). (davaotoday.com)
