BMFI

Jan. 28 update:
41 days later … farmers wary on OP’s silence

Today (January 28) marks the 41st day after the Office of the President issued its order on 18 December 2008, which reverted the 144 hectares of land in Sumilao, Bukidnon to agricultural land.  With the lapse of time, the farmers have grown wary about the silence of the Office of the President, which is further aggravated by the public statements of SMFI attacking the revocation order of the OP.

Nevertheless, the farmers remain firm on continuing their struggle.

On January 26 (Saturday), the farmers stayed at the Hospicio de San Jose.  Early morning yesterday, they attended mass at the Hospicio.  Garry Gallarita, who was one of the farmers who joined the death defying march, spoke to the churchgoers as regards the status of their struggle. 

After their stay at the Hospicio de San Jose, the farmers walked to St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Manila just beside Adamson University, where they were warmly welcomed by the parish priest who took the liberty of organizing a venue where the farmers could share their struggle.  They attended 4 masses:  one at 10:00 am and the other at 4:45 pm, 4:45 pm, 6:15pm, and 7:15 pm.  After the people receive the communion, the farmers were invited to talk to the churchgoers to keep them abreast of the present state of their more than a decade of struggle.

At 8:30 am this day, the farmers attended the forum held at Sta. Isabel College.  It was attended by elementary, high school, and college students of Sta. Isabel.  There were also students from the St. Immaculate Mary College. 

Aside from school hopping, the Sumilao farmers are also actively engaged in their advocacy for the extension of agrarian reform.  It is one of their calls of their 1,700 km walk from Bukidnon to Malacañang.  Hence, with the help of the support group, Mr. Rene Penas, Napoleon Merida, Jr., and Peter Tuminhay will meet today with Senators Biazon and Gregorio Honasan today (January 28) to lobby for the reform and extension of the agrarian reform program. 

Meanwhile, the farmers who are camping in the DAR regional office in Cagayan de Oro City will go to Xavier University today.  They have been invited by the Kristohanong Katilingban Alang sa Pagpakabana (KKP), a social action arm of the university, to give an update on their continuing struggle.  The invitation is only an expression of the commitment of Xavier University to "act and not just pray" (as Fr. Jet Villarin said to the Sumilao farmers when they visited him last January 15, 2008) to help the Sumilao farmers in their struggle.

The visit of the farmers to Xavier is only the first of the series of school hopping they are planning to do in the universities and colleges in Cagayan de Oro City.