15 August 2014 TO DIOCESES, CHURCHES AND FELLOW ADVOCATES Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: Shalom! May the Lord bless us to continue our vigilance in our faith as another incident happened that reminded us to take a firm stand that to the end we should fight for the poor, landless and helpless farmers against indiscriminate violence and justice. Please be informed that we have strongly condemned today the murder at 5:30am on 9 Aug. 2014, one of the protesters in Filipinas Palm Oil in Agusan Sur. Armando Campos y Adlawan, a 42-year old Manobo farmer died of multiple gunshot wounds in Brgy. Ebro, San Francisco, Agusan del Sur. One of the suspects, Anecito Ortiz, is the manager of the Filipinas Palm Oil Plantation Inc., the biggest palm oil operator in Mindanao. We have asked the concerned agencies to immediately take action in investigating the management of the company on this deplorable act of violence against innocent people. On July 11, 2014, agrarian reform beneficiaries in the plantation served notice to FPPI management that they are terminating their lease contract which was executed in 1990 between the FFPI and former officers of the cooperative to take effect from 1988 to 2032. At an annual rental rate of ₱635.00 per hectare which has never been reviewed much less increased, it is no surprise that the farmers no longer wish to wait until the contract’s expiration in 2032 to exercise full control of their land. This lease rental is even being paid to the Land Bank of the Philippines as land amortization. Since then, the FPPI has reportedly resorted to various acts designed to harass and frighten the more than 1,000 farmer families who have joined hands to reclaim their right to the land. The incident is seen as another attempt to foil the ongoing struggle of the farmers to regain control of their land. This almost 4,000-hectare landholding was among the first properties covered under the agrarian reform program in 1988 and awarded by then President Corazon Aquino to the 937 members of the NDC Guthrie Estates Inc. Multipurpose Cooperative (NGEI-MPC). An estimated 60% of these agrarian reform beneficiaries and NGEI members belong to the indigenous tribes of Agusan del Sur. We would like to call upon the dioceses, parishes, churches and civil society organizations to lend solidarity to our farmers who are struggling for land and justice. Let us extend our hand to support the pains of poor farmers agonizing over grudges in agrarian disputes. The farmers are asking for food, water, medicine and morale support. They are asking for support statements. They are asking for solidarity activities in light of the murder, legal battles and continued land occupation. They are asking for support in reaching out to concerned political and agency leaderships to resolve the agrarian crisis that is giving rise to such deplorable violence. The strongest term of condemnation is necessary to immediately stop violent action against democratic practices to assure our people that indiscriminate murder and human rights violations are unacceptable in any form. For further information and coordination, kindly contact Mr. Kim Ronquillo, chairman, NGEI-MPC thru Mobile Number: 09274381528. Kindly send contributions to Mr. Tranquilino Melendres, LBC San Francisco. In closing, let us join in prayer and sympathy for these victims of injustice that in the end they shall receive overflowing kindness. With deepest prayer and sympathy, MOST REVEREND ANTONIO J. LEDESMA, SJ, DD Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro Convenor Climate Change Congress of the Philippines (CCCP) FR. EDWIN GARIGUEZ Executive Secretary CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA) BISHOP EFRAIM M. TENDERO, D.D., D.L. National Director Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches of the Philippines (PCEC)
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 22:02:59 +0000
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