The Stake of Ownership
Scrutinizing the Failed Attempt of Land Reform
By Czyrah Isabella Manalo Cordoba and Mika Andrea Ocampo Ramirez
One can plough and sow and till a land for the rest of his life, but the fruits of his labor can only be savored once the fields that he sweats for truly become his.
The colonial era of the Philippines continues to have a grave effect on the country not just because it still has its tentacles around the state, but because it planted deep and strong roots within, that, if uprooted, will destabilize the system. In the pre-colonial days, despite the existence of a social structure that upheld the reality of having different classes in the society, natives had access to all the lands that they could lay their eyes on. Come the Spanish era, the familiar structure was struck down and was replaced by an oppressive system that outlived all those who introduced it. The poison of feudalism intoxicated the innocent native culture, and the lands that were once free to use became bounded by patronage. Replacing the three-century domination of Spain, the American rule did not really aid the problem despite claiming to champion democracy, instead, it took advantage of the leftovers of its predecessor as it was beneficial to its reign.
Centuries later, the problem of the past continues to plague the country — the masses still endure the consequences of living in a society that is dominated by feudal lords and elites of one kind or another. The outcry of the people has not changed — it still clamors for a progressive land reform that will free the nation from the shackles of feudalism, and redistribute lands, justice, and social rights in the society.
SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP
The possibility of a genuine land reform is a far-fetched whim in a country that holds a tight grip onto feudalism and greed as its sources of power.
Land reform attempts date back to, at least, the American colonial period of the country. From that era to the present time, one could assume that drastic changes have already taken place and that the remnants of the encomienda system from the Spanish era have already been wiped out from the Philippine culture. But as what is seen in the current status of land reform in the country, the past reform endeavors may have been written in the wind, as they are collectively ineffective. A lot of sacrifices made by peasants and farmers have already been offered in the fight for a genuine land reform; these do not only include the pain and exhaustion that peasants endure from their daily demoralized situation, but actual blood, sweat, and tears have been spilled and offered up to a god-like system that pretends to be benevolent while acting omnipotently.
Through the years, tragedies have accompanied the struggle for just land reforms as testified by the horrifying events that took place in the past. In a lot of circumstances, protests and mobilizations of peasants and farmers lead to bloody events that mark the history red. One of the most infamous events that happened in the name of land reform is the 2004 Hacienda Luisita Massacre. On November 16, 2004, workers of the sugar plantation held a protest to push for fairer wages, increased benefits, and generally, for a genuine national land reform. Come afternoon of that day, the combined forces of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) violently dispersed the protesters under the order of then-Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary, Patricia Santo Tomas. As the farmworkers and their supporters tried to resist the water cannons and teargas grenades, the police and military forces unleashed their beasts inside and fired into the picketers’ front lines using live ammunition. Dead bodies were found scattered around the main gate of the plantation — at least 7 farmworkers were reported killed, and about 121 people were injured, 32 of them from gunshot wounds. In the following weeks after the massacre, supporters of the workers’ strike were also killed. The dispersal left a bloody field. Instead of watering the lands with water, the state chose to sprinkle it with the blood of the workers, not knowing that it will eventually give life to an unrest that it could not suppress nor exploit.
As a proof of the continued supremacy of a feudal structure in the country, Hacienda Luisita remains stubborn and intact in the face of suppression and maltreatment of its loyal workers. Like most of the agricultural lands in the country, the controversial land is still owned and operated by an oligarchical system. Hacienda Luisita is a 6,453-hectare wide land located in the province of Tarlac; it was originally a tobacco plantation awarded by the Spanish colonial government in 1882 to the Tabacalera firm that was later on turned into a sugar plantation. In the present day, it is owned by the influential Cojuangco clan which holds a prominent position in the Philippine political arena.
In 1957, Tabacalera offered to sell the hacienda and the sugar mill, and it was indeed sold with the blessing of patronage. Former President Ramon Magsaysay blocked the sale from the Lopez family in Iloilo, and, instead, offered the hacienda to Jose Cojuangco Sr. The Cojuangco patriarch bought the property with government support; the Central Bank deposited part of the country’s dollar reserves with a US bank to guarantee repayment of a loan the bank granted to Cojuangco, and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) granted him a P5.9-million loan. In both instances, a span of 10 years was given to Cojuangco to, either, distribute the land to “small farmers,” or subdivide it among tenants who shall pay the cost of the land. But before closing the deal with the GSIS, Jose Cojuangco Sr. managed to have a provision of the conditions amended. In the final deal, it was specified that Hacienda Luisita “shall be sold to tenants, should there be any,” after 10 years. In a rather unsurprising turn of events, in 1967, Cojuangco refused to surrender the land, and claimed that there were no tenants to distribute the land to on the hacienda. Oligarchs depend on the game of patronage and their cunning abilities, and resort to petty reasons and malicious loopholes just to deny the masses of their rights.
Ironically, it was during the administration of the late President Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino, the daughter of Jose Cojuangco Sr., that one of the most extensive and intensive land reforms was legislated — RA 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) was signed by Cory Aquino on June 10, 1988. This year, CARP is already in its 29th year of implementation, including its extension, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER). This agrarian reform law aims to redistribute public and private agricultural lands to landless farmers and farmworkers, irrespective of tenurial arrangement. Originally, CARP was only given a span of 10 years to be completed, but as factors like politics and selfish interests interfered with the program, it stretched to merely three decades without producing clear and productive results.
ELITE TAKEOVER
As the government became dissatisfied with its iron grip on the farmers’ throats, it soon relished the company of guns, sprinkling bullets and flooding the farmlands with blood.
As the sun introduced the El Niño and the drought that rampaged all summer, thousands of farmers braved the scorching heat to march in the streets. They demanded the local government’s intervention in their predicament, asking for immediate relief. To be exact, the farmers asked for fifteen thousand sacks of rice. Two days of negotiations went by and the government retained their disapproving stance on the farmers’ demands. Instead, it offered an alternative, with then-North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza proposing to give only three kilos per quarter for every family. While this appeared as a viable and acceptable solution for the government, it served as a mockery to the farmers, adding insult to the hunger they were experiencing. Thus, they did not waver, refusing to leave the streets despite threats of being dispersed by the police.
The police kept true to their promise. Before noon, on April 2, 2016, combined forces from the local police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines stormed the barricade. Wearing full dispersal battle gear and carrying long firearms, they rained bullets on the farmers. As they massacred the farmers, they claimed two lives and injured around a hundred more. Seventy-eight farmers were also imprisoned for direct assault.
While many decried the government’s response regarding this issue, the state continued its inutile approach. Investigations were made to probe further into the incident, leading to the questioning of the governor and the officials involved, however these inquiries proved to be futile. Then-President Noynoy Aquino himself stayed silent and neutral before voicing out his disapproval on the incident. Although he eventually came out in opposition of the issue, his earlier silence is evident that he is embodying the entire government and its perpetual attitude on the farmers’ issues: apathy.
Truly, the process of attaining justice has not been slow; it has not even started. Hiding under the guise of sympathy with its initiatives of investigations and examinations is the government’s uncaring nature. Nonetheless, it remains, buried and obscured by the pressure to not evoke public dismay. The lack of change a year after the Kidapawan massacre is a testament to this, and the current administration’s inattention to previous and present abuses against the peasantry provides stronger evidence to this.
This is also reflected in the history, and more importantly, the present state of agrarian reform laws. HR R077, more known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER) is another chapter in the history of ineffective and abusive agrarian reform laws. A five year extension of its predecessor, the almost thirty-year-old Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) retains its previous’s allegiance on the interests of the landlords and inattention towards the farmers’ welfare. CARPER dictates that private agricultural lands will only be distributed if the original program — CARP — has been able to distribute 90 percent of its mandated lands. Moreover, CARPER relies on a three-phase protocol, wherein private agricultural lands are the last to be distributed. This becomes inherently problematic as CARPER prescribes that ninety percent of the lands that are the subject of the two earlier phases (abandoned, or voluntarily given lands and other public agricultural lands, respectively) must be first distributed before the private agricultural lands. Because of the lack of proper implementation of this law, the private agricultural lands of feudalistic landlords remain untouched, benefitting them.
CARPER’s ineffectiveness can be rooted in the motivations of those who enacted it. As the majority of the government’s legislative body is composed of landlords, their true intentions in retaining the useless agrarian reform programs become clear. In order to protect their own selfish interests, they manipulate the government — an institution which is mandated to serve all Filipinos — to exact abusive and unjust measures against the farmers. With the feudalistic elite blocking all avenues for genuine agrarian reform, it is not a surprise that nobody, particularly the farmers, keeps faith in the government’s promises of true progress.
TRUE RECOMPENSATION
Only through destroying its ivory towers and planting its feet on the ground will the government transform the dream of genuine land reform into reality.
After a long history of unproductive legislations regarding agrarian reform, it is evident that the real problems have remained overlooked and unresolved. The government has still ignored the plights of the peasantry, benefiting from their struggle and protecting its own interests. Although it has been more than a century after the Spaniards vacated the country, their exploitation has neglected to follow them home. The system of oppression that they advocated have remained unchanging, and instead, even more proliferated.
First filed by late Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran, and re-filed Anakpawis Representatives Rafael V. Mariano and Fernando Hicap, the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB) is a proposed agrarian reform program that has garnered the most support among the peasantry, the primary sector concerned in this issue. In 2016, GARB was presented in the Congress once again, this time formally known as the House Bill №555, or the Genuine Agrarian Reform Act of 2016.
GARB advocates a radical shift from previous state-sponsored agrarian reform programs. Considering the violent and abusive history of its predecessors and their lack of success, GARB seeks to offer free land distribution to all of whom are qualified. The bill also aims to resolve the problems of previous agrarian reform programs by covering all agricultural lands and revoking all previous laws on exclusion and exemption that have been instrumental in propagating injustice. Furthermore, the bill’s focus on the farmers is highlighted in its proposal to provide better and efficient state subsidy and support to the agricultural sector, particularly by promoting cooperation.
In an agricultural industry that repeatedly harkens back to the time of feudalism, GARB is a program that promises to be an avenue for actual reform. It aims to end the long overdue argument of land distribution, finally favoring the farmers whose rights have been trampled on since the country was dominated by foreign powers and governed by interests of the elite. When the focus deviates from the landed elite who are desperate to protect their interests, the government, at last, has done its duty and served the masses, paving the way for progress to be for all.
The Spaniards’ arrival in the Philippines have led to an arduous and bloody battle over the country’s soil. However, over a century after they have departed, the waves of blood has just gotten stronger. Peasants during that time who were trapped under the restraints of landlessness have passed on their bondage to the generations of farmers fighting their forefathers’ battles today.
The agricultural sector carries the entire country on its back, as it provides food for all. After decades of its hard labor exploited by the feudalist state, freeing the peasantry from the bondage of its landlessness remains at utmost importance. Prioritizing the needs of the elite vehemently undermines the need for emancipation, much less disrespect the struggle for it. Only in joining the struggle of the masses and supporting the solutions that actually cater to them — such as implementing the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill and promoting nationalistic, scientific, and mass-oriented industrialization — will the state, at last, achieve true progress.
In liberating the peasantry, the Philippines shall finally be allowed space to grow.
This article was first published in The Manila Collegian Vol. 31 Issue №4–5, Nov 10, 2017.
