Farmers Condemn Violent Dispersal, Reacts to Nograles’ Statement

At this stage of our desperation for the passage of House Bill 4077, the Speaker of the House cannot blame us for our critical actions. Since 2007, when we started our campaign for HB 4077, we have been calling on Congress representatives to deliberate the CARP Extension with Reforms Bill. And what have they done? They have done NOTHING of consequence to the future of poor farmers with their continued failure to discuss HB4077 in earnest.

Rallies and protest actions have always been the form of collective expression and the loudest possible voice that any poor sector can muster to be heard by the political and landed elite. Why criticize us for the only way that we can call attention to our issues?

Were you turned off, dear Speaker? Were your colleagues, and our supposedly potential allies, pissed off? Put yourselves in our shoes. Our land, our lives, our futures are at stake by the law that you and your colleagues continue to bypass. We are pushed against the wall to resort to all, but still peaceful, means possible. We have marched thousands of kilometres, left our homes and farms, risked our lives in these protest actions, armed only with our voices and our conviction to call on all of you to extend the life of CARP, the only law that upholds social justice for our kind. Do you think water truncheons can hold us back now?

And dear Speaker, we are not terrorizing you. May we remind you that we were only exercising our Constitutional right to assemble.  How can we terrorize the same institution we are relying on to pass the Bill that will define our futures? But we cannot afford to be silent at this point of our campaign. We cannot afford to be sidestepped anymore.

“Magkakampo po kami kasi ayaw niyo kaming papasukin para makinig sa paguusap ukol sa CARP Extension with Reforms. Imbis na papasukin kami, binomba pa po kami ng mabahong tubig. Pero pinagkakait niyo po ang aming karapatan para mapakinggan ang batas na para sa amin ng Mababang Kapulungan. 

 Hindi kami natitinag,  patuloy kaming magbabantay sa ilalim ng init at ulan hanggang maipasa ang batas na magpapalaya sa mga magsasakang naglilinang ng ating mga kalupaan at nagsisiguro na may pagkain sa hapag ng bawat pamilyang Pilipino.”

CARP extension with reforms, ipasa! ngayon na!

Reference: House leaders hit lobbyist, Inquirer, 26 May 2009