Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) – The House minority bloc filed two bills calling for the investigation of alleged harassment against farmers in two haciendas in Quezon Province.
According to a house resolution filed by the Makabayan bloc on Tuesday, farmers of Hacienda Uy in San Andres, Quezon province are being exploited: they only get 40 percent of the crops’ harvests, despite shouldering the production costs of some crops; the remaining 60 percent goes to the Uy family, the owners of the hacienda.
Furthermore, the harvest share is given two to three months after, forcing the farmers to borrow money with 20 percent interest.
Makabayan’s resolution also mentions, this is not an isolated case in Quezon Province, as farmers of another hacienda in San Francisco town also experience the same.
According to the Makabayan bloc, production share in Hacienda Matias is at 70-30 in favor of the Matias family, who owns the land. At times, it can be also “tersyohan” which means two-thirds of the share goes to the family and the remainder to the farmers. Production expenses are also shouldered by the farmers.
Part of Hacienda Matias is covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) which entitles farmers to land redistribution.
According to Makabayan bloc, the Department of Agrarian Reform issued a Certificate of Land Ownership Award to more than 280 Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries in December 2014. However, farmers were unable to work on their lands “due to harassment of armed men” deployed by the landowners.
CARP is under Republic Act 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 signed by then-president Corazon Aquino. According to the law, the “welfare of the landless farmers and farmworkers will receive the highest consideration to promote social justice and to move the nation toward sound rural development and industrialization.” It covers all private and public agricultural lands.
The two resolutions were filed by representatives Ariel Casilao (Anakpawis), Carlos Zarate (Bayan Muna), Antonio Tinio and France Castro (ACT Teachers), Emmi de Jesus and Arlene Brosas (Gabriela) and Sarah Elago (Kabataan Partylist).
