“President Aquino wants to give land away, why not start with Hacienda Luisita as a sign of goodwill?” said Lakas-Kampi-CMD Rep. Maria Milagros Magsaysay of Zambales in reaction to Mr. Aquino’s pronouncement that the government would distribute 2 hectares of land each in the rural areas to 560,000 squatter families in Metro Manila.
The militant group Anakbayan agreed with Magsaysay, saying that the offer of a complete package of housing and livelihood may sound good but the President should have that for the country’s millions of landless farmers, including those in Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac.
The group is questioning the Aquino administration’s capacity to carry out such a plan in the face of the latter’s failure to redistribute the country’s many haciendas to millions of landless peasants.
Citing a 2007 research by the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Vencer Crisostomo, Anakbayan national chairman, said around 21 percent of the nation’s farmlands are concentrated in the hands of 9,000 individuals.
“This land monopoly includes the personal holdings of Noynoy Aquino relative and tycoon Danding Cojuangco, which is estimated at 30,000 hectares,” said Crisostomo.
He said the government will be able to give enough farmland to every informal settler and peasant family in the country if it will implement a genuine agrarian-reform program without any loopholes, payments and conditionalities.
Crisostomo was referring to the existing Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (Carper), that has been dubbed by peasant groups as a “failure.”
Among others, Crisostomo cited the loopholes that allow landlords to exempt their lands from CARP coverage, and making farmers pay landlords for the land.
He said Mr. Aquino’s plan of providing the lands as on a “lease” basis instead of for free would make it no different from the “epic” failure of CARP and Carper.
Meanwhile, Crisostomo also described as “ridiculous” Mr. Aquino’s statement that the country’s food security is suffering owing to the decreasing number of farmers.
“The Philippines has food insecurity because the government has allowed and continues to allow the practice of land-use conversion, or turning rice and corn lands into subdivisions and malls for the rich,” said Crisostomo.
“Three-fourths of our population continues to depend on agriculture from a living. What is lacking is the land on which they can earn a decent livelihood,” he added.
Relatedly, Magsaysay lamented that “some people can’t face the truth as they’d rather have a lazy, do nothing President than a hands-on, mature, intelligent, honest one for the country’s sake.”
“Wanted: Honest, hands-on, mature, intelligent President for the Philippines. We are still looking for that president up to now,” said Magsaysay.
