黑料社

MANILA, Philippines鈥揝ome 1,000 farmers marched on聽Malaca帽ang聽on Monday to mark the expiration of what they called a 鈥渂ogus鈥� Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and to call for the free distribution of land to farmers.

Dubbed as the 鈥淟akbayan聽ng聽mga聽Biktima聽ng CARP para聽sa聽Tunay聽na聽Reporma聽sa聽Lupa,鈥� the march from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) office in Quezon City to聽Mendiola聽near the palace was joined by farmers from聽Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog and Bicol.

The marchers, led by the聽Kilusang聽Magbubukid聽ng聽Pilipinas聽(KMP), noted the unsettled disputes involving the 6,000-hectare Hacienda聽Luisita, the 8,650-ha Hacienda聽Looc聽in聽Nasgbu,聽Batangas, and the 3,500-ha聽Araneta聽Estate in San Jose del Monte,聽Bulacan.

The marchers burned a 10-foot effigy of President Aquino wearing a US flag on arriving at聽Mendiola.

鈥淲e want to send a strong message to the President and the proponents of the CARP extension bill that we have had enough lies, deception and violence inflicted by the sham CARP on the peasantry,鈥� said KMP chair Rafael Mariano.

Mariano assailed House Bill No. 4296, which granted a two-year extension to the 26-year-old CARP, saying the act was 鈥渘othing but an exercise in futility.鈥�

Independent labor center聽Kilusang聽Mayo Uno (KMU) said the CARP had been the 鈥渓ongest-running鈥� and 鈥渕ost expensive鈥� land reform program in the world.

鈥淚t has not resulted in the distribution of land to farmers but only legalized the concentration of land in the hands of a few landowning families,鈥� said KMU chair Elmer聽Labog.

The Save Agrarian Reform Alliance (Sara), for its part, sought on Monday an independent audit on the performance of the DAR and other agrarian reform-implementing agencies.

Sara, an umbrella coalition of farmers seeking effective agrarian reform, said a 鈥渉igh-level independent commission of upright and publicly credible citizens with legal powers鈥� would reveal the true gains of CARP.

The commission is among the major demands raised during the June 6 People鈥檚 Agrarian Reform Congress.

鈥淒AR鈥檚 reports remain questionable and are padded. We need an independent evaluation of DAR鈥檚 and other CARP-implementing agencies鈥� past and present performance to determine the state of agrarian reform in the country,鈥� Sara spokesperson Trinidad Domingo said.

鈥淲here are the exact lands that still need to be distributed? What happened to the farmers who were given land? How much land reported by the DAR as accomplishments are truly in the hands of farmers, who have received adequate support services? These are questions the DAR has declined to answer,鈥� Domingo said.

The groups criticized the DAR鈥檚 performance which they said had slowed down rather than fast-tracked land distribution. They said farmers鈥� rights were also routinely violated by landlords.

The coalition spokesperson also questioned Agrarian Reform Secretary聽Virgilio聽de los Reyes鈥� figures on land distribution.

鈥淲hat is the basis for the 78,303 hectares [that have not yet been covered by land reform]? Where are these lands? Where is the master list of lands to be distributed? There is no way for us to verify if these lands, which still need to be distributed, are not underestimated,鈥� Domingo said.

The coalition welcomed House Bill No. 4296 and Senate Bill No. 1288, which extend the issuance of notices of coverage and ensure a budget for another two years. However, it said that all efforts would remain futile as long as De los Reyes remained head of DAR.