Governor decries ‘politics’ in land distribution

LUCENA CITY—Quezon Gov. David Suarez on Friday expressed disappointment that because of politics, he was left out of the historic land distribution event in Mulanay, Quezon, on Wednesday.

He said he did not get any invitation to the event, even as “courtesy and protocol” dictated that as provincial governor, he should have been invited.

Suarez said his father, House Minority leader Danilo Suarez, a stalwart of the erstwhile administration party Lakas-Kampi, who represents the province’s third district, was also not invited to the event that  was held in his own turf.

Some 5,000 farmers from Bondoc Peninsula  received their certificates of land ownership awards (Cloa) in the ceremony held in Mulanay, one of the 12 Bondoc towns.

National government officials who graced the event were Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio delos Reyes, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, Commission on Human Rights Chair Etta Rosales and National Anti-Poverty Commission Secretary Joel Rocamora.

Suarez, who is running for reelection under the National Unity Party, said the event should not have been tainted with politics, as it was the culmination of the farmers’ long struggle. He said his family had been part of this struggle when he was still a provincial board member and vice governor.

He congratulated the Cloa recipients and assured them of  continuous support from the provincial government.

Suarez urged the national government to finish its task of completing land distribution in Bondoc Peninsula “regardless of our political colors.”

“We only took charge of the farmers’ attendance,” said Jansept Geronimo, campaign officer of Quezon Association of Rural Development and Democratization Services. He said the affair was organized by the Department of Agrarian Reform.

Mulanay Mayor Joselito Ojeda, a Liberal Party (LP) member, said his municipal government had nothing to do with the invitation, as the event was  organized by DAR personnel.

Quezon LP leader Rep. Irvin Alcala, from the province’s second district, and son of Secretary Alcala, who will face the reelectionist Suarez in the gubernatorial contest, was, however, present in the event. So were other politicians running under the LP. The venue was littered with yellow buntings, the LP color.