Struggle for land continues

On Jan. 22, 1987, state security forces opened fire on farmers demanding genuine land reform from then president Corazon Aquino. The farmers were on Mendiola bridge near Malacañang; 13 of them were killed while almost a hundred others were injured in what has been since called the Mendiola massacre.

Jan. 22, 2017 marked the 30th year after the massacre, yet until now those responsible for the bloody dispersal of the farmers’ protest have yet to be brought to justice.

And the Mendiola massacre was not an isolated event. In the Philippines, land is concentrated in the hands of a few, while a large part of the population are farmers who own almost no land and who live below the poverty line. Recent developments related to land disputes and agrarian reform in the country are also becoming a cause for worry under the Duterte presidency.

In 2016, four farmers were shot to death by members of an armed force connected with a local politician and police official in Nueva Ecija. In Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac, goons connected with the powerful Cojuangco family continue to demolish farmers’ houses and communal farms. Tens of thousands of farm workers continue to experience extreme hunger in Negros, especially during Tiempo Muerto, when there is no work to be found in sugar plantations.

Farm workers in Tagum City were indiscriminately fired upon by armed men under the employ of Lapanday Corporation on several occasions, injuring dozens of farmers, including several children. And last Jan. 20, a leader of the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW) in Negros was shot by armed men allegedly in the employ of a local politician and landlord. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died.

The list goes on.

The government should recognize the fact that genuine agrarian reform is an important aspect of Philippine development, and that the country cannot move forward unless it addresses and resolves the land disputes and other agrarian issues faced by the majority of Filipinos. Millions of farmers will continue to experience hunger and countless more will fall victim to violations of human rights—unless President Duterte makes good on his word to bring meaningful change to the lives of the Filipinos, something which he has yet to do.

These continuing violations of the right to land are an affront to the rights and dignity of the farmers in our country, who sow the seeds of the food we eat yet do not own the land they till. On the 30th anniversary of the Mendiola massacre, let us not forget all the farmers who have sacrificed sweat, blood and life for land, peace, justice and meaningful change.

RENMIN CRISANTA ABRAHAM-VIZCONDE,spokesperson, Assert Socio Economic Initiatives Network, [email protected]