Court junks charges vs farmers in Bataan
DINALUPIHAN, Bataan—A municipal court here on Thursday dismissed charges of grave coercion and harassment filed in 2009 against 19 farmers from the Sumalo farming village in Hermosa town, where they had been fighting for years to stay on a parcel of land bought by a Manila family in 1979.
The charges were filed by a security team after the farmers tried to prevent the fencing of the property.
Judge Philip Cruz, of the First Municipal Circuit Trial Court, dismissed the charges for “lack of merit,” saying the formal complainant, identified in court records as Renato Ros, had not offered testimony against the farmers during the trial.
Cruz said that a lone witness presented by Ros’ lawyer had not been credible or reliable because of inconsistencies in his testimonies.
The judge also dismissed a similar coercion case against Sumalo village chair Rolando Martinez.
The decision was greeted with cheers by farmers outside the court. “Thank you, Lord,” chanted the farmers when they left the court room.
They were among the hundreds of villagers who petitioned the government to place the Sumalo area under the coverage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program in 2011.
The disputed land, acquired in 1979 by a family from Manila for P11,000, spans 213.6 hectares. Greg Refraccion, Inquirer Central Luzon
