BMFI

Jan. 22 update:
Sumilao farmers speak before Catholic Bishops

The Sumilao farmers marched from the University of Santo Tomas early morning today to speak before the gathering of Catholic Bishops at the Pope Pius  XII in Manila. Early morning today, the Sumilao farmers joined other agrarian reform advocates from KILOS-AR in commemoration of the 21st anniversary of the Mendiola massacre.

Rene Peñas, farmer-paralegal of the Sumilao farmers, said that as farmers push for the implementation of genuine agrarian reform, they have to remember the martyrs for agrarian reform who were killed in the struggle. The farmers who died in Mendiola 21 years ago and other farmers who were martyred for agrarian reform, he said, serve as inspiration to them in their quest for their own land and in for struggling for a genuine agrarian reform law. "We are faced today with the challenge of reforming the agrarian reform law which will lapse in the middle of the year. Landlords will surely seek to let the agrarian reform law lapsed out of existence and keep their lands. This calls all farmers organizations and agrarian reform advocates to be united to fight for agrarian reform" Peñas said.   According to Peñas, the Sumilao farmers were part of the group agrarian reform advocates who drafted HB 1257 sponsored by Akbayan Party-List Representative Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel. He said that the bill seeks not just the mere extension of CARP but also introduces critical reforms to plug the loopholes of the current law.

Napoleon Merida Jr., president of the San Vicente Landless Farmers Association, said that today they will meet the members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to present to them their story. He said that they are expecting to meet the 19 bishops who have met and sheltered them all throughout their 1,700-kilometer walk late last year. "Today our representatives will stand before the CBCP to tell our story, it is our hope that our story, together with the stories of other farmers struggling for agrarian reform, we can convince the bishops to take a more active role in the struggle for agrarian reform. We know that the Church is an active advocate for social justice that is why we are confident that they will be moved by the stories of injustices and struggles and will work side by side with the people to ensure social justice will take its course." Merida said.

The Sumilao farmers have been walking around the campuses and parishes around the national capital to talk with students and parishioners about their case.