Profile of the Six Nine-Day Fasters
HERMINIO “Minyong” AGSALUNA. Minyong, 56, is an organic vegetable farmer from Barotac Viejo, Iloilo. He joined a 40-member, 4,000 strong provincial federation of agrarian reform beneficiaries, and founded the PATANOM agri-cooperative, now with 924 members and with 74 million -peso asset engaged in rice, corn, and sugar production and trading. Minyong is the current President of Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA) (2017-2020). He was advised by the Medical Action Group not to join because of a previous stroke, but he signed a waiver anyway to join the fast. “Mahalaga lang aminin din natin ang ating pagkukulang sa hindi pagsasakatuparan ng mga pangarap natin sa EDSA at magsakripisyo tayo upang muling magkaisa ang sambayanang labanan ang katiwalian sa ating lipunan. Kaming mga lider ng PAKISAMA ay humihingi ng tawad sa aming mga kasapian at hindi naming lubusan silang napagsilbihan nitong nagdaang 32 taon. Bagama’t marami na rin tayong napanalong mga kampanya sa lupa at katarungang panlipunan, karamihan pa rin sa aming kasapian ang nabubuhay sa kahirapan.”
IRENEO “Rene” Cerilla. “Hindi naipatupad nang seryoso ng lahat ng mga administrasyong nagdaan ang nakasulat sa Saligang Batas patungkol sa Katarungang Panlipunan, kaya hanggang ngayon laganap pa rin ang kahirapan sa ating bayan. Hinihiling naming ipatupad nang lubusan, hindi palitan ang Saligang Batas ngayon!” Rene, a father of eight, and a coconut farmer from Quezon is a former President of PAKISAMA, now the Advocacy and Paralegal Program Leader. He is still struggling to help recover all the coco levy fund, now estimated to be at 200 billion pesos’ extracted from three million coconut farmers, at the height of the Marcos Dictatorship. Together with eight other farmer federations Rene helped organize the 1,700 km march of 71 farmers from Davao to Manila on September 21-November 26, 2014 to press government to enact into law the Coconut Farmers Trust Fund Bill. The interest of the 71 billion peso recovered cocolevy fund aims to benefit directly 3.5 million coconut farmer families. President Duterte signed a commitment with the coconut farmers during the 2016 election campaign to give back the recovered fund to the farmers in 100 days upon assumption to office. 596 days have passed since he became President, no law has yet to be passed on the utilization and management of the recovered fund, remaining untouched in the National Treasury while millions of coconut farmers are languishing in poverty. The bill has already passed the Lower House and still awaits final deliberation in the Senate led by the Agriculture Committee head, Senator Cynthia Villar.
JOMLEE CALLON. “Sumali po ako rito upang ipahayag ang pagnanais naming makamit ang katarungan sa 44 na taon naming paghihirap sa Bugsuk, Palawan. Kasama ang mga militar, inagaw po ng mga Cojuangco ang lupain at karagatan namin sa Bugsuk noong 1974”. Jomlee Callon is among hundreds of fishers from Bugsuk, Balabac, Palawan. They are still being barred from fishing in their traditional municipal waters, now with huge pearl farm, and from entering the 11,000- hectare Bugsuk and Pandanan islands earlier planted to hybrid dwarf coconuts controlled until the present by Danding Cojuangco and his brother. A known crony, Danding Cojuangco fled with Marcos family to Clark, then to Hawaii, on the night of 25th February 1986 at the height of the 3-day People Power Revolution. Inspite of it being sequestered by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), an office now threatened to be abolished. Supported by government’s military, Danding continues to control Bugsuk and Pandanan Islands as if no People Power revolution has happened. Among the key proponents of Charter Change in the Lower House represent big landlord interests. There is a big risk the current ill-implemented asset reform laws are eventually made inutile with the deletion of the social justice provisions in the current Constitution. The Bugsuk-Pandanan islands covering 10,800 hectares were issued Notice of Coverage by the Department of Agrarian Reform in June 2014 but until now has not even passed the second of the 28 steps in the long land distribution process.
ORLANDO “EBONG” PENAMANTE. “Sana naman ipatupad nang lubusan ang IPRA at maibalik sa aming katutubo ang pamamahala sa aming lupaing ninuno. Sana naman tigialan na ng pamahalaan ang paggawa ng proyekto sisira sa aming pamumuhay at kabuhayan bilang mga katutubo.” Ebong is the current president of SUKATAN, an organization of Dumagat-Remontado Tribe in the town of Tanay, Rizal, one of the 110 ethnolinguistic communities in the country comprising 15 of the 104 million Filipino population. SUKATAN, with SAGIBIN, and supported by the Save Sierra Madre Network, are struggling to save their 184,000 hectare ancestral domain’ forest and agricultural land and ancient burial grounds and way of life from being totally destroyed by government’s big dams project. The Duterte Administration is continuing the project started way back during the Marcos dictatorship. The 66 billion- peso big corporation-controlled “Centennial Dams” project will bury eight villages of indigenous peoples and settlers and inundate 50,000 hectares of forests and agricultural lands, ostensibly to ensure water security of Metro Manilans. Professor Gordoncillo, a climate expert, a tremendous waste of public funds while there is a clear much cost efficient (P16 billion only), environmentally sound and socially-acceptable alternative, the use of Laguna Lake and the reforestation of Watershed, patterned after the Singapore model.
RANDY CIRIO, “ Hindi pa tapos at lubusang naipapatupad ang batas sa repormang panakahan, Milyun milyong mga magsasaka pa rin ang naghihirap. Natatakot kaming lubusan nang mawala ang aming pag-asa kapag binura sa Saligang Batas ang Repormang Panakahan,” a young farmer leader of Banasi farmers association from Bula Camarines Sur, has figured in various marches, started with the 444-km Banasi March in October 2008 to press then the Office of President GMA to reverse the decision of her undersecretary to convert into an economic zone the land that has been earlier distributed to the farmers under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. He later joined several mass actions to help extend the Agrarian Reform program and help other farmers in their struggles (Laiban March, APECO March, KM71 March). He is the current Vice President for Luzon of PAKISAMA, also representing the young farmers in this nine-day fast.
Fr. ROBERT REYES, founding leader of GOMBURZA, a national movement of diocesan priests, sisters, and laypeople committed to a faith that does justice, formed at the height of the Marcos Dictatorship. Fr. Robert has been prominent in various direct non-violent campaigns in solidarity with the basic sectors and in exacting accountability of government and Church leaders alike. He fasted for 45 days in 2005 in the same People Power Monument in solidarity with the citizens asking the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to resign following the Hello Garci controversy. With the Extra Judicial Killings on the rise, the threat of authoritarianism, Fr. Robert revived Gomburza and has initiated several actions to help stop the killings and to help bridge various divides within the civil society organizations and social movements. He believes unity among the 1986 People Power Revolutionaries and the various sectors opposing current Charter Change attempt would require contrition or recognition of our respective shortcomings in upholding and pursuing the spirit of EDSA and the letter of the 1987 Constitution over the past three decades.
Organizations
PAKISAMA. Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka, www.pakisama.com, a national confederation of small farmers, fishers, indigenous peoples, rural women and youth organizations formed a few months after the historic 1986 People Power Revolution to push for the realization of agrarian reform and rural development. Dedicated to the methods and spirit of EDSA: active nonviolence, people empowerment and social justice, it has been prominent since then in the campaigns for the enactment of CARP (1988), CARP Extension (1998), CARP Extension with reform (2009). It helped coordinate the successful Sumilao farmers campaign, a 20-year campaign of 162 farmers in San Vicente, Sumilao, Bukidnon, to get back their 144- hectare ancestral land, battling with the powerful and well connected Quisumbings and the San Miguel Corporation. It also helped coordinate the Banasi (2008), Laiban (2009) APECO (2012), KM71 (2014), Lakbay-Buhay (2017) Marches.
UPAC or Urban Poor Alliance Action Committee is an alliance of informal settler organizations in Metro Manila, helped formed by Community Organizers’ Multiversity. Currently led by Jose Morales, a prominent humane urban housing advocate and active nonviolence practitioner, UPAC has been campaigning for the implementation of Urban Development Housing Act, a landmark legislation to ensure housing for the poor. Jose led several mass actions and has supported the cause of other sectors e.g Sumilao Farmers. He joined the successful 20-day nation-wide anti-death penalty Lakbay-Buhay campaign as one of the 15 core pilgrims representing the urban poor.
GOMBURZA is a group of clergy, religious, and laity committed to the Roman Catholic Church’s social teaching, formed at the height of the Marcos Dictatorship and recently resurrected. Inspired by the spirit of martyred Gomez, Burgos, Zamora, which catalyzed the 1896 revolt against Spain, GOMBURZA wishes to perform it historic and prophetic role using active non violence. It is led by prominent “Running Priest”, Fr. Robert Reyes, who has figured in various social justice direct action campaigns over the past three decades, in support to the struggle of the basic sectors, eg Sumilao farmers, Bugsuk farmers, etc.
