Like in Luisita, farmers in Bicol are also being harassed!-KMP-Bikol

News Release

August 12, 2010

Reference: Felix Paz, chairman, KMP-Bikol

Like in Luisita, farmers in Bicol are also being harassed!-KMP-Bikol

The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas-Bikol (KMP-Bikol) revealed that farmers in the region are also being harassed by elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippines Natioal Police and even the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) like in the case of Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac.

According to Felix Paz, chairman of KMP-Bikol, “farmers from all over Bicol are being harassed, illegally arrested and killed by the military and other armed agents of the government to protect the landholdings of big landlords in the region and as part of their so-called anti-insurgency drive. Last July 5, 10 farmers from Hacienda Peralta in Sorsogon, were illegally arrested by the CIDG on trumped up charges filed by the landlord,”

“The victims were arrested for supposedly violating Section 73 of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law or trespassing filed at the Regional Trial Court Branch 52. But the Department of Agrarian Reform already declared the hacienda under CARP as early as 1994, which means that the land is already a public land and is to distributed to the farmer beneficiaries,” added Paz

“Last August 5 around noon, the Alpha Company of the 49^th Infantry Battalion under 1Lt. Henry Pabelonio in Brgy. Añog, Irosin, Sorsogon, illegally arrested Bernabe Alim, a farmer in Purok 2, Brgy, Maycawayan, Irosin of the same province. The military maliciously accused him of being an NPA member and supposedly found in his hut some ammunition, 2 grenades and subversives documents,” said the peasant leader.

“And last August 9 around 7:30 am Boyet Esquilon, a 19 year old farmer in Brgy. Dumangmang, Labo, Camarines Norte was taken and beaten up by the military and his harvested corn was taken by the military. This is all happening in the backdrop of the recent moves of the Cojuangco-Aquino clan, relatives of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to deceive and harass the farm workers of Hacienda Luisita. Landlords all over the country are using the military to maintain control of vast tracts of lands that peasants are claiming as their own. This has to be stopped immediately and the land must be returned to the farmers because they have suffered long enough,” ended Paz. # # #