| Oct 8, '07 6:31 AM
for everyone |
We commend our senators for their steely resolve to uncover the mystery that is the National Broadband Network fiasco. The whole country has the right to know all the details surrounding this issue. We must prosecute all the people who benefited on this project. Our quest for the truth must not stop with the resignation of Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos.
While we support the current senatorial inquiry on the matter, we call on our senators to also look into the status of the 19-year old Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. Millions of small farmers across the country are still waiting for the promise of our nation’s leaders that they can till their own land. Ten years ago this month, 17 lumad-farmers from Sumilao, Bukidon staged a hunger strike in front of the office of the Department of Agrarian Reform in Quezon City. Their call then was and still is the redistribution of the 144 hectares of their ancestral land. Many things have happened since their 28-day hunger strike in 1997. Former President Ramos’ much vaunted Win-Win formula came to naught when the Supreme Court decided to uphold the conversion order of then Executive Secretary Ruben Torres. Meanwhile, the Norberto Quisumbing Sr Management and Development Corporation sold the land to the San Miguel Food which put up a piggery farm. This is clearly a violation of the conversion order. In spite of these setbacks, the Sumilao farmers remain steadfast and still believe that one day they will be able to reclaim their ancestral land. They have now filed a petition for the cancellation of the conversion order before the Office of the DAR Secretary.
The story of the lumad-farmers of Sumilao, Bukidnon is a reflection of the state of agrarian reform in our country. It demonstrates how little our commitment is to agrarian reform justice. The concentration of land and power to the elite and the discrimination against our indigenous people resulted in the decline of rural communities and the never-ending cycle of poverty and hunger of millions of Filipino people. While tales of unbridled corruption and endless scandals titillate the imaginations of our people, the painful spectacle of seeing our leaders fight over who gets to be on the limelight leaves a very bad taste in our hungry mouths. It is our hope that our leaders will not forget that there are other pressing concerns that need to be attended to, one of them is agrarian reform. We request them to help us in restoring social justice not only by fighting corruption but also through equitable distribution of land.
Raul Socrates Banzuela
National Coordinator
Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA)
Rm 207 Partnership Center, 59 Salavador St. Loyola Heights, Quezon City
Tel. Nos. 4342079
Email: pakisama_pilipinas@yahoo.com 
