Staunch advocate for the Sumilao farmers, Lawyer Marlon Manuel sounded optimistic when he said "Sumilao" is a derivative of the word "silaw" which is the effect of a bright light. Atty Manuel considers the Sumilao farmers and their long march to own the land they till, a lighthouse of hope for a better life for all the farmers throughout the nation.
Their 2-months trek--Oct. 10 - Dec. 10, 2007, from San Vicente, Bukidnon to Manila--earned for them not only public support and sympathy but also dignity for a people who has the grit and courage to walk and stand for their right.
Their long walk brought them to an audience with Pres GMA and secured for them an executive order reverting their land from being classified as agro-industrial to agricultural land and thus available again for distribution under the Comprerhensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). San Miguel Corporation, the parent company of SMFI who now owns the land sought a reconsideration of the said order.
More needs to be done, mostly on the part of the Executive who stopped short with the order of reclassification without making the follow-up steps to concretize the order into actual distribution. Making the necessary steps for actual distribution is a political act on the part of the President.
Former Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Ernesto Garilao remarked during the ANC TV talk show "The Big Picture" (01/25/08) that the mobilization of the Sumilao farmers have gained victory, but more needs to be done by all sectors to apply moral and political pressure on the executive to implement the promise of the executive order.
In the same program, another former DAR Secretary expressed his opinion that agrarian reform will not succeed if government and business sector will not do their part. And he believes that poverty and social conflict such as the secession movement are due to landlessness to a significant degree. According to Sec. Abad, the present state of things show land reform has failed. Tenants can not be owner-cultivator and farm manager overnight. After acquiring the farm, they need training, support services, capital. The irony is and sadly, a proof that agrarrian reform reform has failed is that, the farmers have not yet been given the land.
Thus in the words of Atty Manuel, "Let the Sumilao march be an invitation to all to join and support the mobilization of all the farmers. 12 of the Sumilao farmers are in Manila to date and plans are afoot for more peaceful actions and representations." These are being done with the help of the Church heirarchy--foremost among them, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales--and the Ateneo-based Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan.
More need to be done. Every little help of every Filipino, individually and collectively is needed, to bring the farmers to the promised land.
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8 comments:
Yep, CARP will fail unless you have cooperation of the business and governmental sector. The first step is to pass a law that provides incentive to those who advance implementation of CARP. I'm foggy about specifics. Perhaps tax breaks to cooperative entities and pork barrel for supportive LGUs?
The others are good. But pork, no matter how it is called is bad. It is inimical to the health of the nation & of an individual It can corrupt everyone.
Well, if pork's bad, and they don't want it- give it all to me! So at least I can buy myself some socks and shoes.
My feet is a pile of callouses from all that marching.
I want my pork! You can't take that away from me! It's in the fine print!
Take a number and fall in line. The Prez' handing out the pork. You'll have your share.
"Dis"honorables. your pork is one reason the farmers, the oppressed and the saints are forced to come marching in.
The Sumilao Farmers really provided the light and in this case a blinding light that requires one to take notice (the government) as if an oncoming car at night on the highway,where the near blinded driver on the opposite direction,takes notice,and comes to realize that he,not the approaching car is at fault,and the begging farmer asks him to lower his headlamps so all can navigate the dark highway safely.
Signs of times?More marches?Hopefully the blinding lights are lowered...lets help.
Maybe AKP can thru you generate some feedback..whats really lacking or not done well with our Carp?
I for one realize that Holistic would also mean
1)the farmer(s) who is a recipient of the land becomes a production unit in a barangay and
2)the barangayenos are stakeholders as well so
3)the success of the farmer is the success of the barangayenos and so is the failure thus
4)his neighbors would need to help him for the common good to be realized and
5)a cooperative would be best operating the various aspects of the "barangay coop business" but not removing the farmer benficiary from having control on the productivity of his land so instead
6)the barangayenos help him (as a coop member as well) to market his products,to help finance his production,to get local and national government or private entity assistance for irrigation,planting technology,etc
A network of cooperatives and production units like the farmers in and around the barangay could form a federation where professionally trained agribusiness workers could provide common capability and capacity build up to make the coops not only capable but have the opportunity to grow in output.AS we know combined resources are most productive thus the word "synergy".
To the 6 items you listed down, we can add:
Item 7. Value formation aimed at inculcating gratitude to the ULTIMATE GIVER of land. This will inspire them not only with the courage to fight for their basic human rights but also to exercise our Christian values of industry, community spirit and nurture of the environment.
In this regard, Kapatiran can learn some insights from the mission/vision of "Gawad Kalinga"(GK). GK helps the urban poor acquire decent housing not for the grant of the house per se. The rainbow-colored houses serve as the attractive avenue towards developing a sefl-sustainingcommunity of believers enjoying decent lives the children of God deserve
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