200 farmers form human barricade vs DAR

BACOLOD Cit, Philippines —About 200 farmworkers of Hacienda San Benito (HSB) in Moises Padilla town, Negros Occidental have been taking turns in maintaining 24/7 a “human barricade” they formed against the Department of Agrarian Reform.

Every day since Wednesday, farmers of the hacienda in Brgy. Crossing Magallon have been barricading themselves at the main entrance of HSB to prevent the provincial agrarian reform office (PARO) from installing purported beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program from two other groups.

The farmers, who are members of the HSB Employees and Laborers Multi-Purpose Cooperative, led by Erlito Batallon, said they have a pending petition with the Office of the President, for the inclusion of regular farm workers, and the exclusion of Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) holders in the hacienda.

The farmers have been picketing at the hacienda entrance, carrying placards saying “DAR, give the land to real beneficiaries.” 

Edsel Janeo, their legal counsel, said the farmers were questioning the impending “expansion” of CARP coverage by about 80 hectares, and installation of its purported beneficiaries, who were members of the Agraryo Benepisaryo Reporma sang San Isidro Labrador (ABRAMSIL) and Crossing Magallon Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

Janeo, said they will file charges of violation of Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act against DAR’s Task Force HSB next week, and criminal charges when the task force implements the installation.

Batallon, spokesperson of the group, claimed the HSB farmers are the rightful beneficiaries of the land once it is divided under CARP because they have tilled the land since they were born there.

The 334-hectare property, that used to be owned by the MJ Lacson Development Co., had been placed under CARP coverage, more than 10 years ago. Of the 297 hectares planted, 240 hectares are being cultivated by the group of Batallon, while the remaining 57 hectares will be covered by CARP.

Batallon said the plan of DAR to install beneficiaries from the two other groups is “illegal” because 40 percent of them do not even till the land at HSB. Since 2009, three groups are fighting for CARP coverage at this hacienda. 

Lindsey Santillan, another lawyer of Batallon’s group, said PARO’s action should be stopped as it is illegal and “with utter disregard and blatant abuse of authority at the expense of due process and the rule of law.”

Santillan said the impending installation of beneficiaries at HSB could not done becasue the case is still pending at the Office of the President. 

Even former DAR Secretary Nasser Pangandaman wrote in an Order dated July 24, 2009 that he “recognizes DAR’s lack of jurisdiction over the instant case when it denied the motion for execution filed by the other purported farmer beneficiaries ... due to the pendency of a petition for review  in the OP,” said Santillan.

In December last year, PARO officer Florentino Siladan formed Task Force HSB to facilitate the expansion of the area of CLOA holders Redilma Dechosa, et al.

Batallon’s group said they learned that under Siladan’s scheme, 106 beneficiaries from their group will be covered, and 106 more will come from the two other groups. The problem, Batallon said, is that there will be 37 beneficiaries in his group that will be excluded, while many from the other two groups, who were not really from HSB, will benefit from it instead.  (FREEMAN)