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The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) is asking the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to help
other landless peasants in the country.
The Sumilao case is just the tip of the
Philippine land problem, said KMP.
According to Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano,
chairman of KMP and concurrent House representative and president of
the Anakpawis party-list, “just 9,500 landlords own and control
almost 21 percent of all agricultural lands in the country.”
Quoting statistics from the Bureau of
Agricultural Statistics, KMP said almost 3 million hectares are
divided among 9,500 individuals, while more than 2 million farmers
have to eke a living from just half a hectare per family, because
they are forced to divide just 18.5 percent of all agricultural
lands, which is just about 2.5 million hectares.
“The biggest landlord to date is also the
antagonist of the Sumilao farmers, Eduardo ‘Danding’ Cojuangco,
he owns 30,000 hectares of land in Negros, Isabela, Cagayan, Davao
del Sur, Coatabato, Palawan, etc. He also plans to take over around
13,085 hectares in Ilagan, Isabela’s Hacienda San Antonio and
Hacienda Sta.Isabel,” said Mariano.
“The extent of the land problem in the country
is very prevalent in some regions. In Southern Tagalog, only 835
landlords control 70 percent of all agricultural lands. In Cebu, 155
landlords own all the coconut plantations and cornfields. In Cagayan,
437 families control all the agricultural lands. In Batangas, just
16 families own more than 26,000 hectares of sugarcane fields. In
Negros Oriental just 10 families control almost all the lands,”
explained Mariano.
Agribusiness aggravates landlessness, he
stressed.
In Mindanao, just a few transnational
corporations control more than 207,000 hectares of banana, pineapple
and palm oil plantations. What is worse is that they are expanding,
even if these foreign corporations do not have any title of
ownership. They are able to do this with schemes like growership,
joint ventures agreements, cooperatives, leasehold and lease back
arrangements,” added the peasant leader.
“This is all happening under the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program and it will only get worse with its
extension,” Mariano riled.
“Even if the Sumilao farmers get the full 144
hectares they are fighting for through a deal between the unholy
alliance of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Danding Cojuangco, what
about the majority of peasants who still do not own the land they
till?” he asked.
Mariano stressed that his group joins CBCP in
struggling for “genuine land reform and against social
injustice,” and is asking it to “extend the same type of help
and assistance they gave the Sumilao farmers to other peasants as
well.”
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