Agrarian Reform

PDSP lauds President Arroyo for heeding Negros farmers

22 March 2007

THE Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas welcomed the installation of Negros farmers some of whom are on hunger strike in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform office in Quezon City.
Jesuit priest Fr. Romeo Intengan, co-founder of the PDSP, lauded President Mcapagal-Arroyo for ordering the immediate installation of the farmers of Hacienda Velez-Malaga.

“The President did right by taking action on the matter,” Intengan said.

The PDSP leader urged the Armed Forces and the police to be vigilant and to protect the newly-installed farmers. He also urged the landowners to be “reasonable and accept the law.”

“They should leave the farmers in peace. After all, they will still have land for themselves,” Intengan said.

Mrs. Arroyo summoned DAR Secretary Nasser Pangandaman on Wednesday and ordered him to carryout the installation of 122 CLOA holders of a 114-hectare portion of Hacienda Velez-Maga in La Castellana, Negros Occidental. The President made the move after more than 10 of the hunger-striking farmers started to collapse and had to be rushed to the East Avenue Medical Center.

As of press time, reports reaching Task Force Mapalad, the farmers’ umbrella organization, were saying that 74 of the 122 beneficiaries were being installed in a 10-hectare portion of the 114-landholding covered by their CLOA. The hunger-striking farmers in Quezon City vowed to end their protest action after all of the CLOA holders are installed in the entire 114-hectares of land awarded to them more than seven years ago.
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Bishops back Negros farmers

18 March 2007

CATHOLIC bishops have embraced the cause of farmers of La Castellana, Negros Occidental, some of whom are on a hunger strike to compel the Agrarian Reform department to install them as beneficiaries of Hacienda Velez-Malaga owned by businessman Roberto Cuenca.

Task Force Mapalad, which is composed of the farmer-beneficiaries, earlier sought the help of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines in their bid to win the Church’s support for their struggle. Rodito Angeles of TFM said bishops will come out with their individual statement of support to the farmers.

Kabankalan bishop Patricio Bozon visited the hunger-striking farmers who camped out in front of the DAR building in Quezon City Saturday. He urged the farmers to hold a dialog with other farmers of Velez-Malaga known to be loyal to Cuenca and who have been reportedly opposing the awarding of the hacienda to over 100 agrarian beneficiaries.

Angeles however said the issue is not the opposition of the farmers close to Cuenca, but the failure of the DAR to implement the law and install them since they have been legally named beneficiaries. “We have nothing against loyal Cuenca farmers. We only want DAR to finally let us occupy the land which had been awarded to us,” Angeles said.

Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman backed out from his attempt to install the farmers early this month, saying he feared violence may erupt since a group of farmers questioned the awarding of the hacienda. TFM strongly criticized Pangandaman for his failure to do his job, noting that the police and the military were ready to assist him to prevent any untoward incident.

A group of Jesuit priests and seminarians led by Father Romeo Intengan earlier vowed to support the farmers until they are installed. The group pledged to start an e mail brigade to win more support for the farmers, who have been on a hunger strike for more than three weeks.

Intengan, co-founder of the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, warned the Arroyo government that the Negros agrarian dispute can blow up into a much bigger problem than impeachment attempts against it when the hunger-striking farmers start dying.

Members of TFM are set to seek an audience with President Macapagal-Arroyo tomorrow to appeal to her to order Pangandaman to finally install them.
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PDSP backs DAR chief vs Negros execs

01 April 2007

THE Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas slammed local executives of Negros Occidental for ganging up on Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman after he installed farmer-beneficiaries of a sugar plantation in La Castellana town.

Fr. Romeo Intengan, PDSP co-founder, said Pangandaman should be praised, not criticized, for implementing the law and doing his job. Gov. Joseph Maranon and local mayors declared the DAR chief persona non grata because of the installation of farmers in Hacienda Velez-Malaga. The local officials hit Pangandaman for insisting on installing the farmers and accused him of abusing his discretion and ignorance of the law. They claimed that the farmers should not have been allowed to take over the land because there is still a pending case in court.

Intengan took up the cudgels for Pangandaman, stressing that the DAR chief was right in installing the farmer-beneficiaries since they have waited five years to occupy the land awarded to them. The PDSP official said all legal obstacles have been lifted and the only remaining problem was that another group of farmers loyal to Roberto Cuenca, owner of the hacienda, opposed the installation of the chosen beneficiaries.

The priest urged landowners in the province to stop resisting the implementation of the agrarian reform law or blocking efforts of the DAR to award agricultural lands to beneficiaries. He also appealed to local officials not to aggravate the situation by resorting to bullying through the issuance of resolutions declaring Pangandaman a PNG in the province.

“Local executives should help serve social justice, not hamper it. If they are after the people’s welfare, they should facilitate implementation of the agrarian reform program so that poor farmers who have toiled so hard could finally own a piece of the land they’ve tilled for years and have a chance for a better life,” Intengan said.

The PDSP earlier supported the Negros farmers who staged a hunger strike in front of the DAR office to pressure Pangandaman to install them. Some of the farmers took possession of the hacienda on March 22 under tight military and police watch.

“Pangandaman should not be faulted for doing his job. His mandate is to implement the agrarian reform program, and part of his duty is to award lands to beneficiaries, not hand them back to big landowners,” Intengan said.

Install farmers or quit, Pangandaman told

11 March 2007

AGRARIAN Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman should install farmer beneficiaries of Hacienda Velez-Malaga in La Castellana, Negros Occidental to put an end to the protracted agrarian dispute which has long been settled by the Supreme Court.

The Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas said Pangandaman should do his job and implement the law to end the undeserved suffering of farmers whom the government has given a collective CLOA (Certificate of Land Ownership Award) but who have not yet been installed even if the Supreme Court has ruled in their favor.

Jesuit priest Father Romeo Intengan, co-founder of PDSP with National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, said the DAR chief “should let go of his job if it is too agonizing for him to carry out.”

Intengan also appealed to President Macapagal-Arroyo to direct Pangandaman to finally install the farmer-beneficiaries.

The PDSP ideologue said Pangandaman has no more reason to stall or delay the installation since he had earlier admitted that there is no longer any legal impediment to stop DAR from turning over the hacienda to over 122 farmer-beneficiaries mostly belonging to Task Force Mapalad. The DAR chief flew to Bacolod last week to install the farmers but did not do so, saying that he feared that violence might erupt due to the stiff resistance of the former landowner Roberto Cuenca and a group of farm workers from Hacienda Velez-Malaga and neighboring haciendas.

Intengan said Pangandaman could have accomplished his mission to install the farmer beneficiaries on March 8 had he called on the policemen and soldiers who were on standby to assist him and to quell any possible violent resistance.

The failed installation of the farmers, the nth since Pangandaman himself issued an order for their installation in September last year, prompted their legal counsel, former COMELEC Chair Christian Monsod, to brand Pangandaman’s preparations for the event as “just for show.”

“It’s time to put this problem to rest. All legal obstacles have been hurdled, the police and the military are ready to help to ensure a peaceful turnover and to keep the peace in the area through a community precinct that will be immediately established therein. Certainly there is still resistance from the former landowner, but this could be adequately handled if the DAR Secretary had the political will and the determination to implement what should have been done months ago,” Intengan said.

He noted that in the course of the long struggle of farmer beneficiaries to obtain actual possession of the land already legally awarded to them, one of the intended beneficiaries, Pepito Santillan, Sr., was shot dead in January. Other beneficiaries have been on a hunger strike for days in front of the DAR office in Quezon City.

He further noted that other claimants who have sided with Cuenca will be able to receive even more prime land per beneficiary, under an arrangement to which DAR is amenable, so they have no reason to feel left out or disadvantaged by the installation of the TFM farmers and their allies. In the case of Cuenca, reliable sources say that even if the two pieces of land in Hacienda Velez-Malaga were given to the two groups of claimants, he still would own more than 100 hectares of land in various places, such as in the municipality of Moises Padilla and in the cities of Bago and La Carlota.

“Pangandaman should not forget that his job is to see to it that agrarian reform beneficiaries end up actually possessing the land awarded them. He should side with farmers declared as legal farm owners. He’s supposed to champion land reform, not to block its implementation,” the priest stressed.
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Install farmers now before it’s too late, Pangandaman told

15 March 2007

AGRARIAN Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman should immediately install farmer-beneficiaries of Hacienda Velez-Malaga in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental before the situation gets out of hand and more lives are lost because of the agrarian dispute.

Jesuit priest Father Romeo Intengan warned that by delaying the installation of over 100 farmer-beneficiaries of the hacienda, Pangandaman is only prolonging the misery of the farmers, who should have taken possession of the land awarded them years ago. Some of the farmers are on their third week of hunger strike in front of the DAR office in Quezon City. Intengan said the situation could worsen and the government would face a bigger problem if the hunger strikers started dying.

“This could explode into a more serious issue than attempts to impeach the President because it has gripped the heart of the young clergy. Unlike the impeachment bids, the cause of the Negros farmers is clearly morally right,” Intengan, who co-founded the Partido Demokratiko-Sosyalista ng Pilipinas with National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, said.

A farmer-beneficiary died in January when he was shot dead by unidentified gunmen inside the hacienda owned by Roberto Cuenca.
Church groups have also took up the cause of the beleaguered farmers, who belong to Task Force Mapalad, and vowed to sustain the campaign until the beneficiaries are installed by government. The farmers earlier called for the resignation of Pangandaman because of his continuing failure to install them.

Jesuit priests and seminarians pledged to support the farmers. Led by Intengan, they held a mass Wednesday in front of the DAR office where they disclosed that they will intensify efforts to compel Pangandaman to finally resolve the problem.

The young seminarians disclosed that they will start an e-mail brigade in their bid to have various civil groups support the cause of the farmers.

Other supporters of the farmers were scheduled to meet with officials of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines yesterday (Thursday) to seek its support.

Intengan noted that the farmers only want to claim what has been awarded them under the agrarian reform law so that they can have a chance at a better life. He also noted that letting go of the 144-ha landholding already awarded to the farmers will not impoverish its former owner, Roberto Cuenca, as he reportedly still has more than 100 hectares of land.

“If we have to march to Malacanang to bring this matter to the attention of the President, we will do so. We will not abandon these farmers until agrarian justice is served,” Intengan said.

Intengan earlier questioned Pangandaman’s failure to install the farmers when he went to Negros last week. The DAR chief said he backed out to avert violence since another group of farmers resisted the turnover of the hacienda belonging to Cuenca.

Intengan said the DAR chief’s “alibi” is not plausible because the local security forces were prepared for the situation and the so-called rival farmers were from other areas and numbered only around 200 at most. “He should have gone out to see the real situation instead of staying in his hotel and made the military wait from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m as he did.”
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PDSP leader calls for review of CARP

28 October 2007

A thorough review and reexamination of the agrarian reform program is needed before lawmakers decide whether or not to extend the government’s centerpiece program once again.

Charlie Avila, a member of the PDSP Agrarian Reform and Rural Development Cluster, said while the intention of the law is noble, the comprehensive agrarian reform program has failed to uplift the lives of thousands of beneficiaries. He noted that while agricultural lands have been parceled out to some 4.8 million farmers in its 19 years of implementation, most of the beneficiaries remain poor. This undeniable fact should prompt officials of concerned agencies and lawmakers to assess the wisdom of distributing agricultural land to farmers, Avila said.

Before the House of Representatives starts deliberating on House Bill 743 which seeks to strengthen and extend CARP coverage beyond 2008, it should evaluate if the government was able to attain the goal envisioned under the program. Avila said that CARP should not end in land distribution, but should go beyond land ownership. He said farmers awarded certificates of land ownership end up having phantom riches because they lack the knowledge to develop their land or the means to market their produce.

Avila cited the case in Negros Occidental where 41 percent of agrarian reform beneficiaries stopped tilling their lands. A study conducted by the provincial government found that of the 61,375 CARP beneficiaries, 25,336 no longer till their land. The study also showed that those who entered into partnerships with their former employees did better than those who did not.

Avila noted that the heart of any agricultural program should not be land distribution, but better farm stewardship so that the fruit of the land can then be divided among the hands that labored to make the land productive. He said giving a parcel of land to someone who would not be able to maximize its use defeats the purpose of agricultural development.

Avila said that until government found ways to truly empower thousands of poor farmers not just through land distribution but through productive land use and stewardship, Congress should think twice before extending the coverage of CARP.

He also noted that the National Rural Congress spearheaded by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and to be held next year will be a good venue to tackle the problems with the present agrarian reform program.
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