BMFI

Sumilao farmers move for reconsideration
18 October 2007

With blistered feet, burnt skin, and exhausted energy, the Sumilao farmers reached Butuan City ever committed and with persevering spirit in pursuing their struggle of reclaiming their 144 hectares of land.

Their “walk for land and justice” is their best way to express their sentiment and call for the government to urgently distribute 144 hectares under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, after it was invalidly converted from agricultural to agro-industrial by then Executive Secretary Ruben Torres (also known as the "Torres Order") in 1996, thereby upholding the conversion order applied by Norberto Quisumbing Sr. Management Development Corporation (NQSRMDC).

Their first wave of peaceful protest was 10 years ago when they staged a 28-day hunger strike simultaneously in Manila and Cagayan de Oro City after the issuance of the infamous "Torres Order." In order to dissipate the public clamor supporting the Sumilao farmers, then President Fidel V. Ramos issued a “win-win” solution by giving the 100 hectares of the contested landholding to the farmers. But the apparent victory of the farmers was short-lived because Ramos’s “win-win” solution was later reversed by the Supreme Court, and instead approved the conversion application of NQSRMDC.

Meanwhile, as they pursue their peaceful protest along the highways heading for Malacañang, the Sumilao farmers, thru the assistance of the Alternative Law Groups (ALG, Inc.), also wrestle with the legal aspect of their struggle. For the record, they filed a Motion for Reconsideration yesterday, Oct. 17, before the Office of the President (OP), after it dismissed the petition they filed in 2004 to revoke the conversion order of Torres.

In its Oct. 3, 2007 decision, the Office of the President said that the Sumilao farmers have no legal standing, and the petition asking for the revocation of Torres’s conversion order should, therefore, be dismissed. However, Atty. Arlene J. Bag-ao, executive director of BALAOD Mindanaw, contends that contrary to the ruling of the Office of the President, the Sumilao farmers, under the law, have legal standing to file said petition.

Atty. Bag-ao said that the Office of the President erred in its decision because the same was based in the case of Fortich vs. Corona, which is not applicable in the present petition. "The decision in Fortich vs. Corona is inapplicable with the present petition before the Office of the President because it is an entirely new case, with different and distinct issues from Corona vs. Fortich," says Atty. Bag-ao.

"We shall exhaust all possible peaceful and legal means to uphold the dignity of the Sumilao farmers and their right over the 144 hectares of land," Atty. Bag-ao further said. Thus, the Motion for Reconsideration was filed.

BALAOD-Mindanaw is a member of the ALG and Balay Mindanaw Group of NGOs dedicated towards working for equity, development, and peace.

Having reached Butuan City, the farmers have walked approximately 223 kilometers from barangay San Vicente, Sumilao in Bukidnon. They have survived their nine days walk through the help and donations of the parishes and people of Misamis Oriental.

“Mapasalamaton kaayo kami sa gihatag nga suporta sa mga parokya ug sa mga tawo nga among nahimamat sa probinsiya sa Misamis Oriental (We are grateful for the support we received from the parishes and people of Misamis Oriental),” says Erlinda Ligmon, one of the farmers who joined the hunger strike 10 years ago.

They shall continue their walk to Surigao City tomorrow, October 19, the 10th day of their walk.