Aggrieved tillers, tribal folk march on Manila, demand Duterte action

LUCENA CITY—Coconut farmers demanding the return of billions of pesos in levy forcibly collected from them by the Marcos dictatorship. Farmers stripped of their land. Tribal folk demanding recognition of their ancestral domain.

These groups comprise the latest protest caravan that took off from this city for Manila yesterday to demand only one thing from President Duterte: Keep your word.

“When President Duterte was elected, we thought that these protest activities would be over,” said Maribel Luzara, head of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bondoc Peninsula, a group that is fighting for the return of land reform titles taken away from beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

“Sad to say, it seems the President has already forgotten his promises,” said Luzara, one of the caravan leaders.

Luzara cited two promises made by Mr. Duterte that have not yet been fulfilled: Distribute the coco levy fund, estimated to be worth P73 billion, within 100 days of his administration; and to speed up the distribution of land under agrarian reform.

“Instead of lands, we’re getting renewed harassment and violence at the hands of landowners and their armed goons,” Luzara said, describing the plight of land reform beneficiaries in the Bondoc peninsula.

Farmers from Quezon, a major coconut-producing province, were believed to be the biggest contributors to the coco levy fund, which was collected from 1973 to 1982.
No measure in support
Several times, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol was quoted saying that Mr. Duterte had ordered the release of the levy to the farmers but no legislative measure has been passed to support the directive.

At least 200 people joined the caravan, composed of farmers from Bondoc peninsula and northern Quezon and tribal leaders from the Sierra Madre communities.

Some of the protesters walked 3 kilometers from the village of Ibabang Dupay to Perez Park. They wrapped a chain around a concrete coconut marker to symbolize the hardships that have kept coconut farmers poor.

Jansept Geronimo, spokesperson of national farmers’ group Kilusan Para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo at Katarungan Panlipunan (Katarungan), said more farmers from Mindoro and Bicol are expected to join the protest caravan which will pitch camp in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform and Department of Environment and Natural Resources office in Quezon City until Oct. 28.

Geronimo said the protesters will also hold a rally in front of the House of Representatives.

“Farmers are forced to return to the streets again because of the failure of the Duterte administration [to fulfill promises],” said Geronimo.

Marcelino Tena, tribal leader from Sierra Madre and leader of Samahan ng mga Katutubong Agta na Ipinagtatanggol at Binabaka ang Lupaing Ninuno (Sagibin-LN), appealed to the President and Environment Secretary Gina Lopez to speed up the processing of their certificate of ancestral domain.

He said Sierra Madre tribesmen were now facing threats of expulsion from logging and government projects.