Land Distribution as Divine Will

Vatican ll, 1965, and the Pastoral Constitution of the Catholic Church (Gaudium et Spes, 69 provides:

God destined the earth and all it contains for all men and all peoples so that all created things would would be shared fairly by all mankind under the guidance of justice tempered by charity

Likewise, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Towards a Better Distribution of Land: The Challenge of Agrarian Reform, November, 1997, the Church in its social teachings assert that the concentration of landholdings in a few hands is judged a scandal that goes against God's will and plan for salvation since it deprives the majority of humankind of the fruits of the earth.

Unequal distribution of land and landlessness in the Philippines is a form of injustice as solid and as cruel as the rugged and jagged earth. This hardened form of injustice has loong been imbedded in the Philippine social matrix and has spawned social conflicts affecting not only the countryside. Poverty in the rural areas feeds rebellion. It also pushes rural folks to the cities to suffer another form of social affliction in the concrete jungle.

A genuine land reform can arrest this vicious cycle of the poor being tossed here and there, getting poorer and poorer and being continuously deprived of dignity as human beings. Genuine land reform however must not only address the needs of the landless poor, but must also protect the rights of the landowners. I have had personal encounters with farmer beneficiaries who have turned the table against the benefacors and with the aid of DAR officials, wittingly or unwittingly became the abusers themselves.

It is human heritage that power can easily corrupt its wielder. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL) of the Philippines. for all its noble objectives has been open to grievous abuses largely by the landowners and to a certain extent, also by the farmer beneficiaries.

The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) under CARL is expiring by 2008. By all means, it must be extended. The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) says that there are still 1.2 million hectares of private agricultural lands that need to be distributed to the farmers.There are big tracts of land which have been placed under the operation of CARP in a manner being questioned by the farmer beneficiaries themselves as those which availed of the Stock Distribution Option, instead of land grant. It is ironic that in a majority of cases, the present land reform is one over which implementation, both the landowners and the farmers are unhappy.

Now is the chance, after the hard lessons of the past years of a failed land reform program, to design one which will finally liberate the givers from greed and the receivers from the bondage of the soil they till.It should provide an equitable distribution inspired not only by justice but also charity on the part of the law and the giver and one which can not be abused with lawlessness in the name of poverty.

Goodness is it's own Blessing

I read somewhere that the apostles on the road to Emmaus did not recognize Jesus after His resurrection because God has ressurected in the form of every person we encounter in the road of life.

Jesus Christ can be our stronghold and everlasting motivation for kindness. When I sometimes get tired loving, especially those who turn out to be ungrateful as some beneficiaries of "pro bono" services do-- they can be demanding as well--I find consolation in the thought that no good act is ever wasted and every single act of charity will add up to the totality of humankindness. Then I offer all of it to God.

One of the more hearbreaking lament I hear from spouses--mostly wives and mothers is:"How could he/she ever do this ungratefulness/betrayal after all the loving I had done?" I heard these searing words spoken also by a jilted husband--actually two husbands. Both of them are successful businessmen but very unlucky for marrying the wrong women. Both wives abandoned them for another men.

I personally could not fathom how this misfortune could befall on these two generous, inteliigent and successful husbands. They were both generous to the end. Although they had grounds for legal separation which can result in the forfeiture of the share of the wives in the conjugal assets, they decided to file nullity cases which includes an equitable division of the property of the marriage. Their love for their children whom they wanted to shield from a bloody litigation inspired that kind of forgiveness and quality of kindness. The women didn't know what they lost.

But then who am I to judge any woman's heart? No one can ever plunge into her heart's innermost sanctum except she and her Divine Designer and Creator.

And for those who feel betrayed, I can only offer my standard consolation: "That all good acts are rewarded--and that goodness is its own blessing.

Sumilao Farmers... A Bright Light

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.

Choose Your Own Battle

I have been lawyering for a clan for years and been attempting to evangelize the unweildly members by teaching them values of truth, fairness, justice,order and faith in God. My lawyering job is ending successfully while evangelizing is failing dismally.

In the area of morals and values, my effort does not seem to produce result that I am now mulling over moving on and turning away. It is not easy to just give up and admit there is nothing more I can do.

Until my eldest son, Joey said: " If your efforts are no longer producing the desired result then why continue throwing your pearls to the swine." ( I think that is Bible-based). The he followed it up with: "As a a general said,' Choose Your Own Battles.' You maight be able to put your efforts and resources to better endeavors."

Now, that makes it easier for me to move on.

A Lawyer Who Doesn't Like To Sue

Whenever a client comes to me, I explore all avenues for settlement of the conflict between the parties.

Today is a meeting between my client and the plaintiffs. The latter at first, refused to settle amicably and proceeded to file civil and criminal cases against my client. While defending my client in both cases I continue to invoke the Divine Mediator to intervene and stop a very protracted litigation that will unnecessarily clog the court dockets and cause the parties untold emotional turmoil on top legal expenses.

I knew that Jesus, my Model Mediator can find a way. He who

listens to all sides in silence; hearing not only what is being shouted aloud by the crowd, but also what is being whispered about in hushed voices. Moreover, Jesus sees and hears the love unspoken and the silent grief for the sins committed.(Easing the Pains of Battle p. 42)

And before the meeting I provided the mediator an excerpt from the same book (pp 42-43) which says:

As a mediator, you can offer yourself, not as someone with grand solutions to the parties' problem. Present yourself as a fellow traveller, subject as well to the same pains and struggles of every human being. As you offer your hand and walk with hurting fellow women and men, rouse them to hope and stir them to search for solutions. Before sitting on the mediation table call on the Divine Traveller to journey with you and light your way toward a bright path

At "Home" With one Another

It is the most psychical yet most commonplace definition of family I have encountered. The word "family" according to Fr. Cornelio Lagerway, MSC, is closest to the word: belonging. According to him:

When we say: I'm home, we mean- here is where I belong. The sense of
belonging is an important aspect we should develop and deepen in our
relationship, in the human as well as in the spiritual family.

The sense of being home and at home with each other is the root of strength
and the source of care and love which we need so much for peace and
growth.

In the movie, Independence Day, one of the main characters, a lady journalist faced death with the onrushing sea with peace in her heart after discovering she was loved by her long-lost and just-found father. Her newly discovered sense of belonging provided her courage to face the end of the world serenely.

This sense of family can propel you to reach the heights, firmly rooted to your basic sense of self and interconnected to others who matter in your happiness.

The Sumilao Farmer's Long March to Justice -2-

The Sumilao farmers' case stands out as a living, breathing, walking, sometimes limping and even crawling symbol of the oppressed, exploited and abused landless of the Philippines.

The plight of the peasants --which includes fisherfolks-- should take precedence in the agenda for poverty alleviation and development of the nation. Our country is still an agricultural country and developing our agricultural land remains to be one concrete avenue towards our country's progress.

The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) which is supposed to be the most revolutionary approach towards the amelioration of the plight of the majority of our poor is also one of the more prostituted projects of government. I have personally seen how 10,000 farmers occupying Hacienda Looc of my hometown of Nasugbu, Batangas have been subjected to the ignominy of the Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) Bigay-Bawi ( Grant- Repossess) scheme of the DAR via the convenient vehicle of conversion of decades-long agricultural land into something else, to accommodate the moneyed land developers.

Re-zoning of agricultural lands into commercial properties is another legalized scheme resorted to by the local government. Of course, there is also the corporative scheme employed by the biggest landowners in the country who grant the farmers what to the latter is a useles piece of Cerificate of Shares of Stocks-- which earns very minimal dividends if it ever does--instead of giving them a piece of land they can cultivate as their own.

This mind-boggling, heart - piercing and gut- wrenching issue of land distribution vis-a-vis the unabated bastardizationof CARP under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL) dovetail with the march of the Sumilao farmers.

With their sturdy barefeet, hopefully, social justice via land reform can start to strike root on our beloved soil.