A woman peasant leader’s struggle in a feudal culture

MANILA – In a feudal and patriarchal society, a woman’s voice is often unheard. But Lucia Capaducio, a woman peasant leader in Panay, broke the norm. She asserted her right as a woman not only in their household but also in the society where women human rights defenders like her are being silenced by the state. 

The backward culture did not stop Capaducio or Ka Lucia, for many of her comrades, from finding her voice and fighting along with fellow women.  

Now 66, Ka Lucia leads the fight for genuine agrarian reform. She is the vice chairperson of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) National and the chairperson of Paghugpong sang mga Mangunguma sa Panay kag Guimaras (Pamanggas), an alliance of small farmers in Panay and Guimaras.

Feudal culture drives agitation

Ka Lucia came from a big family – one of the seven children in a peasant family. Although they cultivate a three-hectare farmland from their ancestor, the land needs to be divided for the whole family and therefore not enough to suffice their needs. Her parents were both peasants, her mother a farmer and her father on the other hand made bamboo sticks to make both ends meet. 

Their life is difficult, she said. She only completed elementary school. Similarly, her sisters reached only third or fourth grade. This limited formal education was further compounded by their economic circumstances.

In the 1960s, Ka Lucia experienced the feudal culture firsthand within her home and community. Due to their economic status and prevailing cultural beliefs, she said her father only saw his daughters as future wives who would not carry on his surname.

In the 1970s, at age 15, Ka Lucia got married. She said that at that time, this was allowed and parents would have to sign a consent form. In their wedding ceremony, she recalled that the priest officiating their marriage told her that she should obey her husband.

Ka Lucia questioned these beliefs. “Why just follow? Is the woman just following?” Capaducio said in Tagalog. “I cannot just follow [them] because you can do something to change the system.”

Ka Lucia was also taught not to speak against the elders. She said that in their household, they are not allowed to voice out their disagreement with her father. 

She has seen this feudal system in their community in Iloilo. Children, especially girls, are not encouraged to make independent decisions; instead, their parents make choices for them, and the children are expected to comply.

After marriage, she eventually worked as a farmer.

Fighting Martial Law

In the 1980s, Ka Lucia saw the system under Ferdinand Marcos Sr. characterized by the military’s oppression of the people. She said that even barangay officials and the police were too afraid to fight for the rights of their constituents.

Even her parents were afraid to complain and would just feed the military who would pass by their place. “The military would trample on our crops and take our chickens. They seem to have no mercy. And then if they ask [something] and they do not like your answer, they will beat you,” she told Bulatlat in an interview. 

She was already questioning why people are not standing up for their rights. She said that joining an organization is essential as collective action is the only solution to fight discontent.

Her start as an organizer

Ka Lucia recalled that in the 1980s, her cousin was killed due to a conflict in their barangay. The conflict, as far as she remembers, was related to corruption. For her, this cousin became her inspiration to be part of a progressive organization. After all, they also fought against corruption through legal action.

She joined a peasant women’s organization which eventually expanded to include men and became the Leon United Peasant Alliance. Later, Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women was established of which she became part.

As a member of the organization, she participated in protests across various locations to show their opposition to Martial Law, curfew, particularly the closure of radio stations.

Journey for decades

Being in the frontline for 40 years, Ka Lucia learned about the struggles of farmers and how important it is to be alongside them.

Ka Lucia was consistent in leading farmers to demand ayuda (aid) during calamities. One example was Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013 when Ka Lucia helped in facilitating the distribution of relief goods.

She was also among those who condemned the 2020 massacre of nine Tumandok leaders by the 12th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army and the violence against indigenous Tumandok communities opposing the megadam.

Read: Gov’t troops massacre 9 Tumandok in Panay

She was also among the critical voices against the Jalaur Megadam project in Iloilo. She stressed how the project displaced thousands of indigenous rural poor, encroached upon thousand-hectares of ancestral lands, and destroyed the environment.

Until now, she continues to support Bungsuan farmers in their decades-long claim to the stock farm in Dumarao, Capiz. 

Facing attacks

Ka Lucia was also not spared from harassment and red-tagging. 

In 2022, according to Panay Alliance Karapatan, three men claiming to be from the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) went to their residence and asked her whereabouts. 

They interrogated her husband and daughter, accusing Ka Lucia of being a New People’s Army (NPA) leader and their family of supporting the rebel group.

Read: Groups denounce harassment vs red-tagged Panay peasant leader

On Sept. 15, Col. Erwin Lamzon of the 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army red-tagged Lucia Capaducio in a GMA Super Radyo Iloilo interview. Lamzon labeled Capaducio’s group, Pamanggas, as an urban “sectoral front organization” for armed revolutionary groups and described Capaducio as a rebel at large.

Read: Group slams military red-tagging of peasant leader in Iloilo

Despite these attacks, Ka Lucia continues to fight. For her, she will not stop until people’s problems are solved. “If we don’t fight, we will die of hunger and we will not be able to do anything in life.” (AMU, DAA)

The post A woman peasant leader’s struggle in a feudal culture appeared first on Bulatlat.