COMPOSTELA, Compostela Valley – Members of the Compostela Farmers Association (CFA) has condemned propaganda that they said demonized their group by tagging them as a revolutionary organization.
Jimmy Saypan, secretary general of CFA has blamed the Army unit in the area and the mining interest that they have opposed to be operating in the town.
On Saturday, their members trooped to the Compostela Municipal hall and removed the streamers that were hanged around the area. The streamers bore the words “CFA ug NPA usa ra (CFA and NPA [New People’s Army]) are one”.
Their members later sat in protest at the in Sangguniang Bayan building to express their dismay over what they called as “black propaganda” against their organization.
“Molingkod pod mi karon sa Sangguniang Bayan ug magpa-blotter pod mi sa kapulisan ang mga ginahimo didto sa ilahang mga slogan nga gipangbitay nga ang CFA ug NPA usa ra (We will sit down at the Sangguniang Bayan and to file a blotter before the police against what they did by hanging those streamers with the slogan that our organization and the NPA are only one)”.
Saypan named the Army’s 66th Infantry Battalion as the mastermind in the harrassment and Red-tagging of their organization “to pave the way for the large scale mining Agusan Petroleum and Minerals Corporation (Agpet) in our area”.
“Pero nagkahiusa man ang katawhan ilabi na sa Barangay Ngan ug uban pang kasikbit nga lugar diin maigo sa maong pagmina aron batukan ug babagan kining ilang pagsulod (But the residents have united in Barangay Ngan and other adjacent areas which would be hit by the mining operation”.
Six months ago the group pitched tents along the road in Barangay Ngan in its bid to halt mining exploration by Agpet that started drilling operations.
“We are calling for support to the CFA to defend our preservation of the area and our sustainable agriculture program that we recently rehabilitated,” he said.(davaotoday.com)
