The Philippine State, Society
& Economy, 1986-1992

Aug 16, 86
New Law Aggravates Agrarian Tensions
By Rochit Tanedo (IPS-Inter Press
Service/Global Information Network)

A land reforms bill which President Corazon Aquino hoped would end the 20-year-old agrarian unrest in the Philippines has instead enraged both landowners and peasants.

After almost a year of heated debate in Congress, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) was signed by Aquino early last month, and is considered a major political advance for her government.

CARP promises to distribute 7.5 acres of land each to 2.7 million landless peasants over a period of 30 years.

But farmers insist they have lost out. "The odds are again heavily stacked against us," claims Zenaida Uy, 45, spokesperson for the left-wing peasant group Bayan. "We have to resist because Congress has taken the farmer out of the picture."

What both landowners and peasants object to is the number of hectares a landowner has been allowed to keep for himself and his family.

CARP permits each landowner to retain up to 12.5 acres of his land, and an additional 7.5 acres for each child over 15 years who can manage his land.

Earlier, the powerful landowners' lobby in Congress had stalled deliberations for months when they stood firmly for a land ceiling no less than 60 acres.

For many peasant groups, CARP's promise of comprehensive coverage of farm land is illusory. Out of the country's total agricultural lands, the recent law affects around 13.5 million acres.

But CARP exempts 51 percent of private farm lands, according to the Congress for a People's Agrarian Reform (CPAR), an alliance of 11 peasant groups.

Further, with each landowner having an average of 4.5 children, nearly 75 percent of private land is excluded from reform, CPAR points out.

While the new law does cover commercial farms owned by private entrepreneurs and multinational corporations, a 10-year reprieve has been granted for them.

Moreover, the law says if the commercial farms convert to export-oriented crops such as aquiculture, livestock, flowers and fruits, coffee, cocoa, rubber and vegetables, they can be exempted from land reforms for a much longer period.

Under CARP, shares of stocks in corporate farms will be distributed to farm workers, but peasant leaders believe this is a poor substitute for the actual redistribution of land.

"What clout would we have? We would always be the boards of directors without any significant participation in decision-making," argued one farmer.

Although the leisurely 10-year pace of CARP's implementation favors landowners, the 30-year payment scheme for farmer beneficiaries, ha 'xYPin a mad rush to sell or dispose of their properties.

Meanwhile, reports of harassment by landlords have increased over the past months as confusion prevails over the new law's impact.

At the Hacienda Granaries in Lubao Town, 40 miles north of Manila, some 100 women led their families in a protest march. They lay on the ground in an effort to stop their landlord's armed guards from bulldozing and destroying their newly planted crops.

The landlord had fenced the 18-acre farm and posted guards who pounced on "trespassers." The tenants were forced to do their planting at night, but found their crops destroyed after a week or so.

"All of a sudden we were considered 'trespassers' in this land we have been tilling for decades," says Norma Mangilit, 37, provincial leader of the peasant-based Katipunanang Bagong Pilipina (KBP) or the Alliance of New Women.

And in Aliaga Town in Nueva Ecija, some landlords began confiscating the tenant's certificate of land transfers distributed in 1972.

"Some have even done away with the "partihan" (the dividing of the produce at harvest time), saying Marcos' laws are no longer in effect," reports 68-year-old Ka Fely Legaspi, KBP president.

"Such incidents occur frequently," says Marcos Cenon, 55, a paramedic and KBP leader, "and we see no salvation in CARP."

In its place the peasant organization CPAR has drafted a new land reform bill called the "People's Agrarian Reform Code of 1988" or "PARCode."

Acting on the constitutional provision that says that citizens can directly propose, enact, approve or reject any law after filing a petition signed by at least 10 percent of voters, CPAR has called on Congress to adopt "PARCode."

"PARCode" pledges to carry out a "land to the tiller" program covering all arable land with a retention limit of no more than 12.5 acres. PARCode also recognizes women's right to own land.

The peasants argue that CARP is full of loopholes, and say they can expect little protection from a landlord-dominated Congress.

"Besides, there is nothing in CARP that acknowledges our contribution as women. We work and suffer as much as men, and even more. But no support structures have been provided for us," says Lordes Calma, president of the progressive group Amihan.

Calma wants health care and day-care services for peasant mothers, as well as lightweight tractors fit for women, such as are now made in Japan.

Both KBP and Amihan are part of the Agrarian Reform Express, a massive mobile signature campaign calling for the adoption of PARCode.

The campaign has not been without hitches. In several towns, farmers awaiting the signature-garnering caravan were dispersedby the military, while those in the caravan have been prevented from entering the towns.

Campaigners have flooded local dailies recently with full-page advertisements, urging rejection of CARP.

After several workshops and debates, women and men gathered in Quezon City last June 26 and gave their new bill a resounding stamp of approval.

"This is worth all the work, and the sacrifices," said the indefatigable CPAR spokesperson Corazon Juliano, 35. "Farmers everywhere have similar agenda but varying strategies, and it too sometime for the vibrations to follow."

"We are not for armed conflict," Trinidad Domingo, CPAR's secretary-general is quick to emphasize. "By doing this we are trying our best to keep the people, especially the dispossessed farmers, from taking the law into their hands."


Copyright © 1988 IPS-Inter Press Service/Global Information Network . All Rights Reserved.



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