ABS-CBN/Newsbreak: Bishops, Nuns hosed down in lower House

Monday, May 25, 2009

Security of the House of Representatives on Monday hosed down Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, who was leading nuns and hundreds of farmers in a rally calling for the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

According to estimates of the protesters, there were about 1,000 of them including farmers from Sumilao in Bukidnon province, Calatagan in Batangas, and Banasi in Camarines Sur.

“We didn’t expect this. We just wanted to listen to the plenary debates,” Pabillo said.

At 3 pm, they massed at the South Gate of the Batasan Pambansa Complex. They wanted to get inside the plenary for the deliberations on House Bill 4077, which seeks to extend and reform CARP. It’s a bill supported by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

 

At 4 pm, they were hosed down.

Pabillo was later allowed inside the Batasan Complex to attend the plenary session, but he told reporters he opted to stay with the farmers for fear that they will be hosed down again.

Pabillo said they wrote House Speaker Prospero Nograles a letter on Friday seeking permission to organize a protest at the Batasan Complex, but they did not get a response.

Even after they were hosed down, they tried to contact Nograles but they were told that he was in a meeting.

CARP extension

Pabillo also joined farmers in a hunger strike last year when CARP was about to expire. It was extended for six months but without the contentious compulsory land acquisition component. This disappointed the farmers’ groups. Thus, they are now calling on Congress to include compulsory land acquisition in the new law extending CARP.

The Technical Working Groups (TWG) from the Senate and the House of Representatives have met with the CBCP at least three times this year to discuss the extension of CARP.

“Maganda ang napag-usapan namin sa TWG. Pero ngayon, nagdududa kami kung masusunod yun. Baka maiba,” Pabillo said.

Violent dispersal

Last Friday, the security of the House of Representatives also violently dispersed another group of farmers pushing for another agrarian reform law, the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB). As opposed to a CARP extension, wherein landowners are entitled to compensation, GARB seeks to distribute lands for free.

Ten were reportedly injured in Friday’s dispersal. Farmers from Kilusang Magsasaka ng Pilipinas, Pamalakaya, Amihan had been camping out at the South Gate of the Batasan Complex since April 13 when session resumed.

On Monday morning, the these groups filed a complaint against Nograles and security and staff member of the House before the Commission on Human Rights seeking an investigation into the violent dispersal.

“The dispersal of the farmers and the destruction of their makeshift structure in the camp-out violated their rights to peaceably assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances. They also violated the rights of the farmers to freedom of expression.  It was done in bad faith and in contempt of the agreement that was previously reached with the leadership of the House of Representatives to allow the farmers to peacefully hold their camp-out until June 4, 2009.  More importantly, it was done while the negotiation with the house leadership was still on-going,” the complaint said.

In response, Nograles told reporters: “We also have our rights to do our jobs unhampered by them.  We will answer the charges, we welcome them, so we can find out who abused who. You can’t make the House premises your camp and sleeping quarters and your garbage bin.  That’s against our human rights, too,” he said.