Almost two thousand members of Task Force Mapalad (TFM)composed of sugarcane farmers and farm workers are marching this Wednesday, December 5, 2018 at Bacolod City and are also scheduled for a dialogue with DAR officials from the provincial, regional, and central office, to demand the immediate distribution of around 5,000 hectares of land under CARP, as part ofthe remaining balance of 125,000 hectares in Negros Occidental.
Some of the farmers are wearing festival masks as a symbol of the province of Negros and are carrying sugarcanes that signify their hardship in keeping their productivity despite their struggle for land reform.
According to Terry Tarlac, TFM Provincial FederationPresident, they commend the decisiveness of President Duterte in ordering for the CARP coverage of lands in Boracay and eventual distribution to agrarian reform beneficiaries, and they agree with him that land is one of the primary causes of violence and conflicts here in Negros. However, TFM appeals to President Duterte to further continue this great gesture in Negros that currently holds the biggest backlog in terms of land acquisition and distribution (LAD) of CARP covered lands in the country.
“Sana isunod na ngPresidente ang Negros. Dito ang pinakamalaking balanse ng DAR sa buong Pilipinas. Inilalapit din namin sa kanya yung humigit kumulang limang libong ektarya (5,000 has) dito mula sa iba’t ibang hasiyenda na wala ng ibang problema at ipapamahagi na lang, pero napipigilan ng kawalang aksyon ng DAR at pressure ng pagtutol ng mga landowner, hinihiling namin na maipahamagi na ito bago pa man matapos ang taong 2018”, Tarlac further said.
The group further elaborated that the national DAR target is around 53,000 hectares for distribution this year, but as the year nears the end, it only accomplished around 13,000 hectares for the whole country, making it the lowest accomplishment rate for the said agency, and generally, for the Duterte Administration in terms of land acquisition and distribution.
“Kulelat na ang administrasyong ito sa usapin ng pagpapatupad sa repormang agraryo, at naniniwala kami na dapat lagpasan ng Duterte Administration ang ganitong marka. Marami sa nakapaloob sa 5,000 hectares na ipinapanawagan namin ay napasailalim na sa CARP mula pa noong 2001, pero saloob ng halos dalawang dekada, hindi pa rin naipapamahagi sa mga nararapat na agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) at magandang pamasko ito sa amin kung itong limang libong ektarya ay mai-award na sa mga ARBs ngayong Disyembre”, Tarlac further lamented.
Moreover, the group elaborated that these 5,000 hectares of CARP covered lands are long overdue but its transfer and distribution to rightful beneficiaries are impeded mainly due to bureaucratic issues and severe resistance from landowners that also influencing DAR’s implementation. Bureaucratic issue such as the inappropriate application of Administrative Orders 3 and 9 (AO 3 and AO 9) hampers the process in favor of landowners but detrimental to farmers and farmworkers.
“Sa ilalim ng administrasyong ito, labing dalawa na ang biktima ng pamamaril mula pa lang sa aming hanay dahil sa laban sa lupa, anim sa kanila ang patay, bukod pa sa iba pang mga nagbuwis ng buhay noong mga nakaraang panahon, at habang tumatagal, parang unti unti na din kaming pinapatay sa gutom dahil sa kakulangan ng kabuhayan na dapat sana hindi namin dinadanas kung naibigay lang sa amin yung karapatan namin sa lupa sa pamamagitan ng maayos na pagpapatupad ng repormang agraryo dito sa Negros”, Tarlac added.
“Kung mabawasan man lang ng kahit kalahati ang bilang ng ektaryang target ipamahagi ng DAR dito saNegros Occidental pa lang, malaking tagumpay na ito para sa ating lahat, sa aming hanay, sa DAR, sa Administrasyong Duterte, at maaari ng simulan ito sa ipinapanawagan naming limang libong ektarya dahil ipapamahagi na lang ito, political will na lang ng mga kinauukulan ang kailangan”, the said federation president reiterated.
The farmers also expressed that they are not only calling for the full implementation of CARP here in Negros, but also for the wholecountry, and that their victory here in Negros will also mean victory for therest of agrarian reform beneficiaries across our nation.
“Ang ginagawa namingpagkilos ngayon ay hindi lang para sa liman libong ektarya, hindi lang para saNegros, kundi pakikiisa para sa pagpapatupad ng repormang agraryo sa buong bansa”, the TFM farmers expressed. ###
