From Marcos Sr to Marcos Jr, Cebu farmers remain hungry
By Marjuice Destinado
Bulatlat.com
CEBU – “Ang mga mag-uuma, grabe na gyod kagutom. Kay imbis nga yuta ang ihatag, mga kaso ang ihatag ngadto sa mga mag-uuma,” said Gomer Alcantara of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) Cebu in an interview with Bulatlat during Tuesday’s protest, October 21.
(The farmers are suffering from extreme hunger. Instead of giving them land, what they’re given are lawsuits.)
The protest, held in commemoration of Peasant Month, was part of the nationwide National Day of Protest for Land and Against Corruption. Farmers and multisectoral groups marched from Cebu’s Freedom Park to Colon Street to demand genuine agrarian reform and denounce government neglect under the Marcos Jr. administration.
Alcantara told Bulatlat that Cebu farmers have long faced harassment through legal charges, adding that some were accused of illegal logging without any evidence. And when those cases failed, he said that arson charges were filed after farmers were seen smoking tobacco.
He himself was jailed during the pandemic. By the time the cases were dismissed, he said that their farmland had already been replaced with buildings. “Kung gutom sauna, mas nigrabe pa jod [ang kagutom] karon.” (If we were hungry before, the hunger now is even worse.)
Criticizing the systemic handling of agrarian cases, Alcantara found it ironic that land disputes are treated as crimes. “Kami sa KMP-Cebu padayon nga nanawagan nga ipatuman gyod ang tinuod nga repormang agraryo kay gikan pa man na sa mga Marcos. Mga singkwenta kapin siguro na katuig hangtod karon nga Marcos Jr. na sad, nga wala gihapon napatuman maong padayon ang protesta.”
(We at KMP-Cebu continue to call for the genuine implementation of agrarian reform, which dates back to the Marcos era. It has been more than fifty years, and even under Marcos Jr., nothing has been fully implemented which is why the protests continue.)Alcantara said that the youth from their community aged 12 to 17 joined the protest, inspired by their parents and relatives pushing for genuine agrarian reform.
He said that the younger generation understands the stakes: if land continues to be seized, their future — and that of the next generation — will remain uncertain.
“Sa diri, tan-aw nila nga ilang uyoan ug ginikanan, nanawagan sa tinuod nga repormang agraryo. Misuporta sila kay sa sumusunod, og dili sila musuporta, wala gihapon sila’y kaugmaon, pareho sa among nasunod, ila pong masunod,” Alcantara said.
(Here, they see their uncles and parents calling for genuine agrarian reform. They are supporting the cause because they know that if they won’t, they’ll have no future either — just like what happened to us.)
Meanwhile, Belinda ‘Bebe’ Allere, chairperson of Kabus nga Taga-Dakbayan (Panaghugpong-KADAMAY), said that the group is protesting to highlight the struggles of the urban poor while also demanding that the government provide genuine support for farmers. “Determinado na sila nga magpakaon sa atoang nasud; gihikawan lang sila sa mga katungod.”
(The farmers are determined to feed our nation; they are just being denied their rights.) (RTS, DAA)
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