UPDATE (Philippines): Killing of two peasants and wounding of six others in a violent attack

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you that another two peasants were killed while six others were wounded when security guards of an influential landlord open fired on them on 4 June 2007. The guards started shooting at the farmers to prevent them from entering a portion of the 53-hectare farmland awarded to them located in Hacienda Velez-Malaga in La Castellana, Negros Occidental. The farmers were supposed to begin cultivating their land in order to earn a living when they were violently attacked.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

According to information received from Task Force Mapalad (TFM), a non-governmental organisation advocating for genuine land reform, the farmers planned to clean and cultivate the farmland awarded to them two months ago in order to begin planting crops. On June 4, close to 100 farmers went to the area in Hacienda Velez-Malaga when security guards of their former landlord, Roberto Cuenca, opened fired at them to prevent from entering the land.

The shooting killed Alejandro Garcesa (70) and Ely Tupas (52). Garcesa and Tupas were among the 57 farmers who are beneficiaries of land reform and holders of certificate of land ownership award (Cloa) for the said farmland. It was on March 22 when they and other farmers were installed by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) eventually giving them authority to cultivate. About 57 of the 122 farmer beneficiaries were installed at that time.

Also wounded during the shooting were six other farmers, most of whom are also beneficiaries, namely Jude Capitania (32), Jobert Malayas (25), Rene Florendia (27), Alan Hagocoy (26), Norberto Diamante (47), and Andre Barcoma (17).

To see the photos of the incident, please click here. (photo 1, photo 2)

Garcesa and Tupas were among the 25 farmers who launched a hunger strike last February in front of the DAR’s head office in Quezon City to demand their immediate installation to the land awarded to them. The 114 hectares land, which is subject for distribution to the beneficiary, is part of the 446-hectare formerly covered by the said hacienda. (Please see further: UP-030-2007).

It is reported that even though a team of policemen from the Provincial Regional Mobile Group (PRMG) was present in the area, they allegedly did not intervene to prevent the shooting and to secure the farmers’ safety. When the shooting took place, the police station was located in front of the guardhouse of the security guards responsible but the policemen did nothing. They also did not intervene to help the slain and wounded farmers shortly after the shooting.

According to the farmers, the inaction of the police to intervene during the incident, ensure their safety and assist the wounded victims, could be due to their senior officer’s connections with the Cuencas. The Cuencas and the farm beneficiaries have since been in protracted conflict after the farmers were installed into the land awarded to them on March 22. The Cuencas’ farm workers likewise opposed to the distribution of the land to the beneficiaries.

Even though the DAR upheld the beneficiary’s ownership over the land after they were installed, the farmers have since not been able to cultivate and occupy it. Even the Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer (Paro) in Negros Occidental, Stephen Leonidas, have discouraged them from entering and cultivating the land to prevent violence from erupting. The Cuencas’ farm workers who are opposed to the distribution of land had earlier threatened a violent confrontation.

It may be recalled that on March 26, DAR Secretary Nasser Pangandaman issued a memorandum for Post-Installation Instructions for distribution of land in Hacienda Velez-Malaga. It ordered the regional and provincial DAR officers to conduct a demarcation survey in coordination with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and to ensure the protection of beneficiaries. He also ordered that the issue on inclusion and exclusion of ownership on the land be resolved and to continuously monitor the situation.

However, the regional and provincial DAR office failed to conduct the survey and to settle the arrangement to pay for the crops that were planted by the Cuencas onto the farm beneficiaries land. This has since aggravated the situation for over two months after the farmers were installed. No substantial progress took place regarding the conduct of segregation surveys or demarcation to delineate which land belongs to the farmers and that of Cuencas. This is despite the DAR’s assurance to complete the survey within a week after their installation.

As a result, the Cuencas had been able to continually plant crops even though the farmland had already been awarded to the farmers. Therefore, the DAR has yet to negotiate and settle the reimbursement of the said crops, which resulted to further delays for the farmers to cultivate the land. The Cuencas action was despite the DAR’s repeated and previous orders against them to refrain from cultivating the 114 hectares that has been awarded to the farmers.

The situation was so volatile that when the farmer tried to enter the portion of the land on April 30, the Cuenca’s farm workers reacted and tried to attack. Had it not been the intervention of the policemen the violence could have erupted. But instead of ensuring the farmers safety, the policemen told them to postpone occupying and cultivating their land to avoid confrontation.

Even though the DAR provincial officer affirmed that the farmers could go ahead of cultivating their land, which is initially compose of five hectares, they however told them to refrain from doing so. The farmers had to suffer long delays for the DAR to conduct survey leaving them no choice but to occupy and cultivate to assert their right to ownership. They have to cultivate their land to earn a living to support and feed their families. But this desperate action taken by the farmers however resulted in a violent attack against them.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the concerned authorities below requesting their effective intervention to ensure that a credible and independent investigation is conducted in this case. Appropriate charges must be filed against the security guards responsible for the shooting without delay. The failure by the policemen to intervene to prevent the violence from taking place and ensure the farmers’ safety must also be investigated.

An inquiry into the land authority’s failure, in particular to conduct the survey, which subsequently resulted in the violent attack, must be conducted. They should also be held accountable for their negligence and lack of competence. They must ensure that similar incidents are prevented in the future.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER