Kilos Ka Official Publication

June 2012 Volume 1, Issue No. 1

DENR survey complicates ancestral Kilos Ka Sultan Kudarat San Luis Estate Tenants are barred to ... IMPLEMENTASYON sa CARP sa Zamboanga del Sur... 58 Years of Struggle: Revisiting... Justice for Inday Natingga, Justice for ...

Delaying the time, delaying justice, denying lives

Weeks ago, after the dialogue with the farmers who came from different areas in Mindanao, PNoy together with his cabinet members promised to fully implement the CARPER before 2016 ends. But this promise was made in front of personalities of the influential Catholic Church who helped organize the dialogue. The sincerity of the governments promise can be gauged by its action. Just recently agrarian reform program suffered budget cuts in its 2013 budget. In addition, the present administration has not released any written list stating target land holdings that yet to be covered in the coming years. There is also no indication of significant change in the performance of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), DAR and Land Bank personnel to speed up the process of land distribution to the claimants. Meanwhile, landlords and corporations enjoy protection and support of the police and military establishment against the interest of the small farmers. The harassments of farmers in San Luis Estate in Barangay Pinuyak, Lala, Lanao del Norte; the massacre in Osaeta Estate in Dinas, Zamboanga del Sur; the murder of former Barangay Agrarian Reform Chairperson in Brgy. Pulang, Yuta, Lala, Lanao del Norte are just few among the increasing cases of violence against the small tenant farmers in Mindanao in relation to the implementation of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER). The threats to farmers by the exploitative landowners and land grabbers remain strong instrument of injustice in the rural areas. Records of ejectment complaints by the landlords have been increasing. Unfortunately, the tenants have no capacity to hire lawyers to defend them from the harassment and threats of the landlords with their expensive lawyers and their private armies. Worst, the farmers are ejected out from the land they are tilling without court order. Indeed those who have less in life have also less in law. With all the double speaks of the government, the farmer should never stop pressuring the latter. In his first state of the Nation Address, his, the President, emphasized that kayo (the majority masses) ang boss ko, kayat hindi maaring hindi ako makinig sa utos ninyo [ you are my boss, therefore it is unlikely that I shouldnt listen to your command] ... however, in the light of the performance of the agrarian reform programs, it has become crystal clear who really his bosses are, the landlords and the giant agricultural companies. If CARP and CARPER have been implemented properly, the incident of killings and deaths among farmers and those who are working in solidarity with the struggle of the farmers as well those people working with the landowners could have decreased or even avoided. As the time for the implementation of the agrarian reform policy in the country is ending, harassment against the tenants are increasing. Thus it is imperative for the government to make concrete plan on 1.) how to cover the remaining CARPable landholdings, 2.) how to speed up the process of land distribution, and 3.) how to provide security to the tenant-farmers who have been facing harassments. The police and military should be mobilized for the protection of the farmers in the countryside instead of the landowners. After all majority of the latter also came from the rank of the small farmers

The vast hectares of lands that are not yet covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) under land distribution as well as under the leasehold system are owned either by known political leaders, influential families, or known landlords. Accordingly, there are still millions of hectares of which are not yet covered by the agrarian reform as far as the records of DAR is concerned. In fact, many of these claims have already started during the administration of dictator Marcos under his Presidential Decree (PD) 27. . Time is running out, Justice cannot wait any However, it has been more than two (2) decades but much longer and people will surely reclaim their dignified have still to be achieved. lives.- /2

Mag-uuma, Gawasnon Ba?

Ni Mary Joy Villagomez (DKMP-Lanao)

Ang Hunyo 12, 2012 mao ang ika-114 nga kasumaran sa adlaw sa kagawasan sa Pilipinas gikan sa pagpanaug-daug ug pagpanghibalot sa mga langyaw. Apan hangtod karon nagpabilin ang demokratikong pangandoy sa mga gagmay nga mag-uuma ug mga kabos sa banika. Hangtod niining mga adlawa, wala gihapoy kagawasan ang mabagang duot sa katawhan tungod kay wala silay kasegurohan nga mapanag-iya ang mga yuta nga ilang gitikad sa dugay na nga panahon. Nahikot gihapon sila sa mando sa ilang agalon ug nagpabiling samohante nga kanunay nag-atubang sa hulga nga palagputon. Kapin sa 20 ka tuig na ang milabay nga gipatuman ang Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) nga nagsugod niadtong 1988. Apan bisan karun, wala pa gihapon kini mapatuman sa hingpit. Ang extension sa programa nga matapos sa 2014 pinaagai sa Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extention with Reforms (CARPER), wala nagtabang nga mapapaspas ang implementasyon sa pagpang-apod-apod sa yuta. Daghang mga luna nga gisugdan pag-proseso sa milabay nga mga katuigan ug dekada apan hangtod karun wala pa madawat sa mga mag-uuma ang titulo nga maoy magpamatuod nga dili na sila mamahimong papahawaon sa yuta nga ilang gitikad sa pipila na ka henerasyon. Ang kakulangon sa suportang serbisyo ngadto sa mga mag-uuma sama sa kapital, teknolohiya, presyo, palisiya, merkado, pasilidad nahimong hinungdan sa ilang pagkabangkaruta. Nahimo kining hinungdan nga sila nagpabiling nagapos sa ilang mga agalon ug mga suki. Walay kagawasan ang mga mag-uuma kung asa nila i-baligya ang ilang produkto. Walay kagawasan ang mga mag-uuma nga mo-takda sa presyo sa ilang mga produkto. Apan ang dugang kapait kay walay nahimo ang mag-uuma sa walay undang nga pagtaas sa presyo sa palaliton. Ang padayong kalisod sa mga mag-uuma ingun man ang kabus sa banika usa ka tino nga dagway nga wala pay tiunay ug hingpit nga kagawasan ang katawhan. Ang padayong pagdomina sa global nga kapital apil ang pagpanghibalot niini sa mga palisiya ug programa kabahin sa agrikultura ug pagkaon sa atong nasud nga nakadaut sa mga mag-uuma usa ka dayag nga dagway ug nagpamatuod nga kita dili pa hingpit nga gawasnon. Tungod kay dili pa man kita gawasnon sa pagpadagan sa atong kinabuhi, dayag lamang nga atong pakusgon ang han-ay sa mga kabus sa banika; kauban ang mga mag-uuma, mangingisda, kababayen-an ug kabatan-onang Lumad, Moro ug Mayoryang Setler nga ipadayon ang paglihuk aron makab-ot ang tinuod nga kalambuan, kalinaw ug kagawasan sa tibuok katawhan. -Mensahe ngadto sa mga partisipante panahon sa duha ka adlaw nga para-legal training kauban ang mga mag -uumang samohante sa Lanao del Norte kaniadtong Mayo 12-13, 2012. /3

DENR Survey further complicates ANCESTRAL DOMAIN CLAIM IN LEBAK, SULTAN KUDARAT
Photo courtesy of TRIPOD Foundation

A top view of some portions of the Ancestral Domain being claimed by the family of Datu Dante Mastura

The Ancestral Domain Claim (ADC) of Datu Dante Mastura clan in Poloy-poloy, Lebak, Sultan Kudarat, was awarded in 1970s during the time of Ferdinand Marcos. It has an aggregate area of 2,000 hectares which is bounded by the ADC claims of Manobo Tribes from Lebak and Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat. During the height of the conflict between ILAGA and the Baracuda in the 1970s, almost all the people of the said community had evacuated including the Moro and Lumads. Because many of the residents did not immediately return to the area even when the conflict started to subside, Christian settlers from the Visayas and Luzon, and even Moro and Lumad migrants from different parts of Mindanao started occupying and cultivating portions of the abandoned ancestral domain. The occupants of the said fertile land were able to avail a social forestry program from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) which aimed at developing upland communities through ago-forestry and crop cultivation. In this program, the beneficiaries received a Certificate of Stewardship Contract (CSC) which gave the farmers a 25 years security of tenure. In return, the farmers are obliged to develop and protect the environment. When these contracts expired in late 1990s, the leaders of the Mastura Clan referred to the DENR and asked clarifications on how to provide stronger security of tenure to the farmers living within the ancestral domain. The clans series of follow-ups resulted to the conduct of a survey dividing the whole ancestral domain. During the consultation with the farmers, DENR personnel explained that the land covered by the ancestral domain claim is /4

classified as Alienable and Disposable lands. Therefore, the farmers can apply for Free Patent titles. However, during the community dialogue held in Poblacion Lebak on 7-8 June 2012, the problem resulting from the survey was pointed out as a major contributor to the situation as it automatically divided the whole area into a 5-hectare lot each. This exact division of the area into five-hectare lots had resulted to overlapping of individual claims among farmers since their actual area of cultivations is not exactly five hectares. Further, the survey plans also do not reflect the names of the actual cultivators that should have been verified during the actual conduct of the survey. Aside from the needs to ascertain the actual claimants in relations to the original occupants of the area before the conflict in 1970s, the so-called 5-hectare allocation per claimant does not have permanent boundaries. There are no solid posts to determine the boundaries of each lot. The DENR also revealed during the consultation that the selling of land claims to other farmers further complicated the process of determining the actual beneficiaries. Because the issue in Poloy-Poloy has been dragged for many years, conflict between and among the claimants, holders of ADC and line agencies have started to crop up. Accusations have been thrown to each other even without basis blaming for the delay in processing the land titles. This further deteriorates the fragile relationships between and among the tri-peoples in the area. It is in this regard that Kilos Ka - Sultan Kudarat together with TRIPOD as the (see page 6)

Photo courtesy of TRIPOD Foundation

Kaliwa: Mga partisipante ng Pormasyon ng Kilos Ka sa Sultan Kudarat

Kanan: Mga bagong halal na opisyales ng Kilos Ka-SK

Mula ng mabuo ang Kilusang Maralita sa Kanayunan (KILOS KA), pangunahing naging panawagan ng mga myembrong organisasyon at ng konseho nito ay buoin ang mga promasyon sa mga probinsyang saklaw nito. Kaya noong Mayo 7, 2012, isinagawa ang pormasyon ng Kilusang Maralita sa Kanayunan (Kilos Ka) -Sultan Kudarat sa pangunguna ng Tri-people Organization against Disasters (TRIPOD) Foundation. Ito ay dinaluhan ng mahigit limampung (50) partisipante na kumakatawan sa labing anim (16) na organisasyon mula sa tatlong (3) munisipalidad: Kulaman, Lebak at Kalamansig. Ang mga partisipante ay binubuo ng sektor ng mga magsasaka, mangingisda, kabataan at kababaihan. Ang pagtitipong ito ay naging daan upang mapag-usapan ang mga pangunahing problema at isyung kinakaharap ng mga mamamayan sa kanayunan ng probinsya. Ilan lamang sa mga isyu natalakay ay ang patuloy na pagpasok ng mga kompanya ng mina sa mga bulubunduking bahagi ng lupain ng mga Lumad at Bangsamoro, ang patuloy na pamumutol ng kahoy (logging) sa mga watershed areas, unti-unting pagkaubos ng mga bakawan sa dagat na siya sanang mahalaga sa mga isada at iba pang lamang dagat, ang matinding paggamit ng mga petrochemicals sa pagsasaka na naging sanhi ng malakihang utang at pagkalugi ng mga magsasaka, at ang kawalang seguridad sa pagmamay-ari ng lupa sa bahagi ng mga magsasakang migrante, mga katutubo, at Bangsamoro. Bilang pagsang-ayon sa pangangailangang maorganisa ang mga sector sa kanayunan, ang mga partisipante ay pumili ng kanilang mga opisyales at kinatawan. Ang sumusunod ay ang mga nahalal na mga

opisyales ng Kilos Ka-Sultan Kudarat: Chairperson Vice Chairperson Secretary Deputy Secretary Treasurer Auditor PIO : : : : : : : Anthony Manaog Bonofacio Aguada Mark Uy Doming Dewig Bai Minda Mastura Joel Aleta Eddie Gura

Area Representatives: Kalamansig Brgy. Cadiz Brgy. Dumanggas Nuevo Sta. Clara Lebak Kalamongog Poloy-poloy Datu Guiabar Kulaman Brgy. Poblacion People s Representatives Bangsamoro Migrante Katawhang Lumad Sektoral

: Silverio Sales Jr. : Antonio Manaog : Joel Aleta : Bonifacio Aguada : Eddie Gura : Al Kusain : Doming Dewig : Esnany Gubel : Mark Uy : Juna Dewig

Kababaihan (Bai Minda Mastura) Kabataan (Engrelyn Dagtay) --/

By M.L. Mandar

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Photo courtesy of TRIPOD Foundation

(Survey ResultsPage 3) provincial Secretariat facilitated series of consultations between and among stakeholders to ascertain issues which are not properly addressed in the past years. For the moment, KILOS KA Sultan Kudarat will immediately facilitate the following activities: Request DENR regional office to conduct re-survey of the area Facilitate consultations with affected farmer-claimants of which the DENR will speak on the status of the survey and processing of titles Come-up with rules and regulations regarding selling of land rights Retrieval and compilation of documents related to the ADCs Facilitate dialogue with municipal government of Kalamansig and Lebak, tribal leaders bounding the said claims as well as with the DENR and National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to sort-out possible overlapping of claims. By Jun Tardo

San Luis Estate Tenants are barred to enter their farm

It was December 28, 2011 when the tenants were forcefully ejected from the 10.3 hectare land they are tilling by the order of the land owner in person of Mr. Rodrigo San Luis on the grounds that the farmers had mortgaged their tenanted lands. The land owner also ordered his men to fence the perimeter of the disputed land and prohibited the farmers from harvesting their crops- like rice, coconut and lemon fruits. When the farmers refused to leave, they were constantly harassed by the blue guards hired by the land owner. These blue guards are the ones being pointed out by the tenants who shot and wounded a farmer who was harvesting rice. One of the blue guards was also identified as responsible for hitting severely Mrs. Luz Hernandez, one of the tenants, while she was harvesting her lemons. Mrs. Manuela Tengzon, a widow and a tenant of San Luis Estate, is now working in the neighborhood farms after prohibited to till her tenanted land. She opted to stay inside her house located within the fenced land. She was This is posted near the gate of the fenced Estate crying as she remembers her dreadful experience and how she and her 4 daughters endured the harassments and threats they received from the blue guards. She said The blue guards harvested our rice. We were not allowed to harvest our crops. They (blue guards) warned to shoot us if we come closer to our crops. We have to ask permission from them if we are going out and ask them again to open the gate if we are to go back to our house. Mr. Jaime de los Reyes, a son of Mrs. Constancia delos Reyes, had helped his tenant mother, was among those tenants prohibited to return in their house and even to enter the vicinity of the estate. He said that his father was one of the original tenants tilling the land since 1957. When his father (Mr. Epifanio delos Reyes) died in 1985, his mother assumed the tenancy. He said, though the land is just small, it is important to us because it is where we were born and where we get our income and food to sustain our daily needs. We are hoping that we can get back to the land and start working again as soon as possible because if that will not happen, we will die in hunger. This has been the common stories and fate shared by millions of farmers in the Philippines in the light of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) implementation since 1988. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER) is due to end on 2014 after its 6-year implementation. However, there are still many JAIMEs, MANUELAs and LUZs who do not have security of land tenure despite their more than 20 years of struggle for land ownership. As the countrys land distribution policy is about to be concluded, farmers started to worry that their almost three (3) decades land struggles will come up to nothing. PNoy, the current president, promised the Filipino people to This rice field was fenced, prohibiting the farmer-tillers enter finish the land distribution during his term. However, these words and promises should be translated into words and concrete actions -- By Mark Mandar

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kamatuoran maoy nagpamatuod nga ang implementasyon sa Agrarian Reform sa Zamboanga del Sur dili pa kompleto. Gani, ang mga tenante niini nga mga luna o Estate bag-o lang nakahibalo nga anaa ang programa sa Agrarian Reform ug kini usa lang sa mga daghan pang mga luna sa Zamboanga del Sur ang nagpabiling gipanag-iyahan sa mga dagkung yutaan. Tungod niini nga mga sitwasyon, nanawagan ang mga gagmay nga mag-uuma nga: Human milabay ang ika 24 ka tuig sa implementasyon sa CARP daghan pa gihapon ang mga mag-uuma nga wala nahatagan sa kahigayonan nga mamahimong benepisyaryo niini. Sa Probinsya sa Zamboanga del Sur, daghang mga mag-uuma ang wala gayod makahibalo niini nga balaod ug ang uban adunay gamay nga kahibalo apan kulang pa kini aron ma proseso ang pagangkon sa yuta. Pipila sa mga areas sa pagkakaron, wala nahuman ang proseso sa pag-angkon sa yuta human sa kapin 20 ka tuig na ang milabay. Kini ilabina kung ang mga tag-iya magdumili sa pagsunod niini nga balaod. Ang mga Municipal Agrarian Reform Officers mangita og palusot kung kini imong pangutanon ngano nga wala mahiapil kining mga lunang dagku. Usa ka ehemplo niini mao ang luna sa mga Ozaeta sa V. Sagun. Ang pamilya Ozaeta adunay kapin kon kulang 140 ektaryas ug gibahinbahin kini sa pito (7) ka mga anak. Ang 5 ka anak adunay tagsa-tagsa ka titulo nga Homestead Patent nga adunay 20 kapin ka ektarya matag usa ug duha (2) ka anak adunay Free Patent Titles nga adunay 15 ug 17 ektarya matag usa. Usa niining nanag-iya sa Free Patent Titles ang nagvoluntary offer to sell sa iyang yuta (17 ektaryas), apan anaa pa sa unang ang-ang sa pagproseso sa pag-ila sa iyang mga benepisyaryo. Ang uban nagpabilin kini nga gipanag-iyahan sa mga Ozaetas. Daghan pang luna ang adunay susamang kahimtang niini. Kini nga mga

Ipakusog pa ang pag-implementar sa agrarian reform ilabina ang sa mga dagku pang kayutaan. Pakusgan ang pag-edukar sa katawhan niining maong balaod aron mas lapad ang maabtan niini.

Kahugpongan sa Mag-uuma/Mamumuo ug Mangingisda sa Zamboanga del Sur (KAMMMAZS) KAMMMAZS Officers: Chairperson : Vice Chairperson : Secretary-General : Treasurer : Auditor :

Alejandro L. Saren, Sr. Reynaldo B. Monteverde Joseph L. Buac Rose F. Albero Esterlita B. Lariba

Peoples /Sectoral Representatives: Lumad : Timuay Librado Gandoy Women : Helaria Villanueva Youth : Reneboy Balives Area representative: Margos Guipos V. Sagun Lapuyan San Miguel Dinas Pitogo Tigbao Kumalarang Dumalinao : : : : : : : : : : Mario Elorza Rose Magallanes Charlito Lanutan Esterlita Lingating Ernesto Sabacahan Benvineda Digan Melquiades Egot Rosita Megio Pascual Masalig Liedyjen Ligan --

Ni Tanie Suano
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Re-visiting the Ancestral Domain Claim of Erumanen Ne Menuvo in Carmen, North Cotabato
By Mark Mandar and Jojo Ambangan Alleged faked document by one of the contracting parties ( the Buyer). This is found after one of the elders of the tribe passed away.

Accounts of their 58-year struggle to bring back their land grabbed by government agencies are as follows: 1954 The efforts to reclaim the ancestral land through petition letter to the Philippine President was formally started by Timuey Paares Bidangan, one of the first scholars of the tribe in Barongis, Libungan, Cotabato. However, instead of considering the action, the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) responded by manipulating and issuing a Yellow Book containing names of elders and leaders of Sinimburanen, a sub-tribe of Erumanen Menuvu, who allegedly donated the land. February 13, 1982 Datu Pedro Ampalid sent a letter to Hon. Jesus Amparo, the State Minister for Presidential Assistance on the National Minorities (PANAMIN) asking to reduce the 485.14 hectares into 100 hectares and the remaining 385.14 hectares shall be allocated to the clan members but the revered Datu received no reply until his last breath on August 13, 1991. Since then, there was series of letters/statements sent by elders of the community to the Philippine President demanding the return of ancestral land. March 17, 1987 The Sinimburanen and other sub-tribes of Erumanen ne Menuvu organized the Aromanen Sinimburan Tindeg Bansa, Inc. (ASTBI) to systematically advance the struggle to re-occupy the ancestral land. May 25, 1990 More than 400 families of ASTBI staged a peaceful demonstration in re-occupying the area. The families erected their houses and till the lands inside the BPI lot for corn and vegetables. As a result, the families were constantly harassed by the BPI security guards and had received death treats. October 05, 1990 The Department of Agriculture (DA) represented by Senen Bacani and the Philippine Coconut Authority represented by Executive Director Wencilito Andanar inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) leasing 303 hectares out of 485.14 hectare of BPI lot for the establishment of Coconut Seed Farm Production Center (CSSFPC). The MOA provided among others that then PCA shall assume the primary responsibility of ejecting the squatters (Eumanen ne Menuvu) while the DA shall (see page 10)

The Ancestral Domain Claim of the Erumanen Ne Menuvu includes more than thirteen thousand (13,000) hectares of land covering twelve (12) barangays all situated in the Municipality of Carmen, North Cotabato. This land, which was formerly the set of their tribal governance and cultural identity, is majority being occupied and taken from them through deceitful legal means by many of the political leaders and outsiders (migrant settlers) thus dispossessing them of their land. This struggle went through years and decades enduring the different threats and harassments by the opponents. It has even caused them lives of some of their tribal leaders and members. In fact, just recently, in the effort of claiming what is theirs, another member of the tribe, Mr. Alvin Cabitin, was shot dead while he was participating in the picket in one of the areas within their ancestral domain. Parcel of this land is now being occupied by the government agencies, Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) and the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI). The coverage was originally measured 50 hectares when it was leased from the Sinimburanen tribe in 1936, but by virtue of Presidential Proclamation 772 under Pres. Manuel Quezon, the coverage was increased to 485.14 hectares, proclaiming such area as government reservation without the consent and knowledge of the tribe.

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Justice for Inday Natingga, Justice for the small tenant-farmers

June 22, 2012 Official Public Statement

It was five (5) in the afternoon of June 19, 2012 when Venecia Inday Natingga was murdered along the highway of Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte while she was going home and riding in a single motorcycle from the Poblacion. She sustained seven (7) gun shots. Identified suspects are said to be hired by the opponents of small tenant-farmers in one of the land disputes that she was assisting. Inday Natingga is a known farmer-leader of DKMP-Lanao (Demokratikong Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas - Lanao) and a strong advocate for the protection of the rights of small farmers especially the tenants. She was a former Barangay Captain of Pulang Yuta, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte; a former chairman of Barangay Agrarian Reform Council; current Chairwoman of cluster ARC community in the area; and a consistent advocate of Agrarian Reform. Her actions until the last moments of her life proved her strong conviction that rural peace and development will only come to reality if small farmers will have security of the lands they are tilling. She has been very vocal Taken on August 2010 during the against land grabbing and a pressure to government agencies involved in the processing of Farmers Consultation in Sitio Camalig, Magpatao, Lala, Lanao land claims.
del Norte where she was one of the participants

A week before she was murdered, she together with other para-legals and officers of DKMP Lanao, a federation of small farmers in Lanao del Norte, received death threats in relation to their strong advocacies of protecting the peasants in their barangay. Her death adds to the long lists of unsolved killings of farmer leaders all over-the country. In Lanao areas, cases of harassment and human rights violations against tenants have intensified in recent days. In San Luis Estate in Pinuyak, Lala, Lanao del Norte, a total of 7 tenants were ejected from their tenanted lands without order from a court but by the lawyer of the landlord (San Luis). Of the same estate, a tenants husband was murdered on March of this year and another farmer harvesting the rice field was shot at his leg by one of the security guards hired by the landowner last January. All of these cases are languishing in local courts without resolution. In 2009, Mr. Dimavivas , a para-legal from DAR-Kapatagan, was shot dead after assisting the farmers who are illegally ejected from Aradasa Estate in Brgy. Tiacongan, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte. Today his case went unheard. As the government is not doing its responsibility of implementing the agrarian reform program as mandated by the Constitution and existing laws in a swift and timely manner, community leaders and the small farmers continue to face threats, intimidations and even deaths. The death of Inday Natingga should serve as a wake-up call for the government and the national agencies involved in the implementation of agrarian reform program that their slow action has been resulting to violence in rural communities. In most cases, the small farmers do not receive protection from the government agencies against the violence perpetuated by the landlords. Instead, the police or military are usually supporting the harassments and intimidation by the landowners. It has been 24 years since the implementation of CARP which started as centerpiece policy to address social justice in the rural areas under the Administration of the mother of the current president, the late Corazon Aquino in 1988. The President, Mr. Aquino has promised recently, to fully implement the agrarian reform targets before his term ends in 2016. However, if the farmers and community leaders who are protecting the rights of the peasant and small farmers are being murdered, intimidated and denied of any protection from government forces, the promise of the president will surely fail. Unless the government will use its vast executive powers forces to implement the laws and strongly implement the agrarian reform program with will and conviction, rural peace and development will remain a battle cry. In the light of Inday Natinggas murder, the latest barbaric act against a farmer human rights defender, Kilusang Maralita sa Kanayunan (KILOS-KA), a movement of rural organizations from Mindanao strongly calls the rural communities throughout the country and peasant organizations and supporters from other countries to condemn the Administration of President Aquino for his unsupportive action and slow paced implementation of agrarian reform program. KILOS-KA also calls CARPER implementation oversight committee of the Philippine Congress to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation in resolving the increasing violence and harassment (See Page 11) /9

(58 years of Struggle Page 8) provide whatever administrative and legal assistance PCA may require August 5, 1992 The PCA foreman Mr. Fred Dalumpines accompanied by PCA laborer, heavily armed CAFGUs and PCA Security Guards cleaned the partially harvested cornfields of ASTBI farmers without any permission. Five (5) days later, the field was planted with coconut seedlings. But a week later, more than 100 ASTBI members uprooted the seedlings and turned it over to PCA. The PCA filed, after a week, a case of malicious mischief against ASTBI members but eventually it was dismissed. December 13, 1992 More than 200 ASTBI members picketed at the PCA main gate. While the ASTBI members were staging demonstration, the PCA continued to fence the 303 hectares land with barbed wire. The picket lasted for several months. The tribal leaders received death treats and harassment (Native Charge Mayor, The Mindanao Daily Mirror, 22 January 1993) November 25, 1995 The House Committee on Cultural Communities conducted a congressional hearing at BPI, Aroman, Carmen, Cotabato. In effect, the Committee issued a status quo decision to protect the rights of the members of the ASTBI. However, the BPI and PCA did not honor the decision. They continued to operate without taking into consideration the status quo decision and the welfare of the claimants. February 12, 1996 The Honorable Congressman Jeremias Zapata, the former Chairman of the House Committee on National Cultural Communities wrote to Hon. Salvador Escudero III, then Secretary of Department of Agriculture (DA) asking him for symbolically return the Land to the Erumanen ne Menuvu but there was no action taken from the side of the DA. October 29, 1997 The Republic Act 8371 also known as the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) was enacted. This legislation propels high expectation among community to peacefully claim back their land. The section 8 of Article 2 of the Law emphasized .the right to ownership and possession of the indigenous peoples to their ancestral land shall be recognized and protected... However, the IPRAs lengthy and costly mandatory requirements to legally claim back the ancestral land caused the delay of the entire process. June, 2005 During the National Consultation on Indigenous Peoples Agenda on Food Security at the Bahay Ugnayan, Good Shepherd Convent, Aurora Blvd., Quezon City, the case was brought to the attention of the Senator M.A. Madrigal. Thus, M.A. Madrigal introduced a Resolution No. 293 directing the Committee on Cultural Communities to Investigate, in aid of legislation, the Sinimburanen claim for the return of their ancestral land in Aroman, Carmen, CotabatoHowever, the resolution went unheard up to now. The tribe never gave up the struggle hoping that one day they will succeed in brining back their land which they dreamed of for decades. Such decade of struggle slowly bear fruit. In the letter dated July 5, 2011 of Community Development Officer of Libungan Community Service Center informing the Community Environment and Natural Resources (CENR) Officer of Carmern, North Cotabato of the ongoing process for application/petition for Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) which is filed by the Erumanen Menuvu states that any application for the land title in favor to non-indigenous peoples including indigenous peoples who are not member of the recognized clan of the legitimate claimants within the areas shall subject for the verification and evaluation with this office. Despite this development, the tribe is still confronted with different problems regarding their land claims. Some portion of their more than 13 thousand hectares ancestral land are titled with out their knowledge. Most of these titled lands are now owned by the migrants settlers and influential politicians in North Cotabato. Just recently, their ancestral land is earmarked as target for oil palm plantation where an oil palm refinery will be also built. All the years of their struggle, what theyve wanted is to get back their land where they can freely exercise their cultural traditions and governance.-Source: Document created during the Kebpengirerehun ne kevurunan (an annual ceremonial gathering for harvest season) held last 29 October

2007 at Savang te Sinimburan, Aroman, Carmen, Cotabato which has been submitted to the authorities concerned on the issues.

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(Justice for Inday Natingga...Page 9) against farmer leaders and to speed upTHhe implementation of agrarian reform program. KILOS KA is also calling the attention of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to order the Philippine National Police and Local Chief Executives to protect the small farmers against any form of harassment from the landlords and should not use the alibi that the land is a private property so they could not help the farmers. For the international communities, KILOS KA urges all partners supporting agrarian reform to voice out their sentiments against harassment among farmer leaders and inform the government of Mr. Aquino to take concrete actions. These actions can be in the form of serious implementation of agrarian reform as mandated by laws and resolve the cases perpetuated against farmers leaders.-Kilusang Maralita sa Kanayunan (KILOS KA) Since 2008, the program on Peace Building and Food Sovereignty initiated by different NGOs and POs and also known as Tri-people Food Sovereignty Network (TFSN), have been working on the different rural and development issues. The TFSN has initiated for the formation of Mindanao Rural Poor Organization. Series of consultations and discussions were held to discuss the characteristics, working mechanisms and fundamental needs to fully realize the project of the formation and strengthening the mass campaign body. Discussion on the plan of the creation of peasant and rural poor organization, the national and international situation of peasants and other rural sectors were conducted. Local, national and global actions and initiatives towards protecting the remaining natural resources for farmers as well as their human rights condition in the face of continuous threat and danger targeting their sector were also thoroughly discussed. On March 13-15, 2010, the Mindanao Rural Poor Movement (MTPRM), through the Mindanao Rural Poor Congress, was finally formed. It was held in CUIC, Suarez, Iligan City , participated by rural sectors from different areas in Mindanao to wit; CARAGA, Greater Cotabato Area, Greater Lanao Area and Zamboanga Peninsula. Having seen the necessity of expanding its membership and scope of action on the national level, on June 3-5, 2011 during the council meeting as mandated by the Assembly, its name was changed into Kilusang Maralita sa Kanayunan (KilosKa) or Rural Poor Movement.

KILOS KA
Executive Committee
Chairperson:

Kilos Ka Council
Lanao Area:
Jamail D. MagadTagoloan, Lanao del Norte Mary Joy B. Villagomez-Lala, Lanao del Norte Fita A. Dulang - Tubod, Lanao del Norte

The Movement is concerned with the following issues:

1. Security of tenure among small farmers and fishers folks through fully implementation of agrarian reform, IPRA and Integrated Social Forestry and support services. Environmental protection against indiscriminate mining, logging, watershed destruction. Protection of primary food production sites against corporate land grabbing and privatization of communal waters; Lobbying for policy in support to food sovereignty Building relations within the national and global to pursue the demand and protection of rural communities. Strengthening the rural sector within and among the tri-peoples, women and youth.

Alejandro L. Saren, Sr.

Vice-Chairperson:

Datu Raffy Mendoza

Secretary General:

Zamboanga Peninsula:
Rosalina R. Sumoson Tudela, Misamis Occ. Ma. Bella M. Pampilo Polanco, Zambo. Norte Norberto A. Tilao Dinas, Zambo. Sur

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Lydia C. Mangcao
Deputy Secretary:

Sunnie Z. Jumuad
Treasurer:

CARAGA:
Florgie Morta Tubay, Agusan del Norte Ruben S. Cuasito Sibagat, Agusan del Sur Adelina B. Duminda La Paz, Agusan del Norte

Maribel Sajol
Auditor:

Rolando Ambangan
PIO:

Cotabato Area:
Romy M. Pradi North Upi, Maguindanao Benedick E. Juliano Lebak, Sultan Kudarat Melinda B. Gallego Cotabato City

Charlie Trozo

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CARPER Situationer 1.093 million hectares - DAR backlog as of January 2012 of which 94% came from privately owned lands.

In 2011, only 94% of the 200,000 hectares national target for the year has been achieved according to Task Force Mapalad (TFM). More than 300 haciendas has to be covered in Negros. CARPER will expire in 2 years but still 1 million hectares has to be distributed. In 2011, it only accomplished 54.6% of Land Acquisition and distribution (LAD) target based on 250,000 has. annual target under CARPER. As of the end of last year, DAR revealed that it has distributed 4.3 million of which sizable portions comprised of public agricultural lands. CARPER calls for P150 billion annual budget while the DBM cuts DAR budget requests from 30 billion to P18 billion and cut another P4.3 billion in support services. Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer (5/6/2012 )

This months Kilos Ka Campaign Poster for CARPER

The cover photo depicts the tragic experience of tenant-farmers under the slow paced implementation of agrarian reform program in the Philippines. The picture was taken by Mindanao Peoples Peace MovementKatawhang Migrante Secretariat (MPPM-KM) during the Fact Finding Mission of several non-government organizations and peoples organizations in San Luis Estate, Pinuyak, Lala, Lanao del Norte on May 16, 2012. I n the said estate, there are 7 families of tenant-farmers who have been ejected from the lands they are tilling without legal order from the court. Aside from the ejectment, the estate was also fenced with barbed wire to prevent the farmers from entering back to the disputed land. The farmers have also been facing harassment in the form of physical and psychological threats from the blue guards who are hired by the landowner. They were also prohibited to harvest their crops. The first issue of the RUSTLINGS from the Countryside, it condemns the system of land distribution in the country which is responsible in the continuous violence that the tenant-farmers are facing in the hands of the landlords and their private military and oftentimes in connivance with the agencies involved in the agrarian reform.

The Rustlings in the Countryside, Kasikas sa Kabanikanhan in Cebuano, is the official name of this publication. Rustlings means energetic and loud voices. The title illustrates the outcry of the rural poor in the face of landlessness, poverty, inequity, harassment and exploitation. Movements of the rural poor have started to make their sounds and their rustlings. Soon there voices from the countrysides are ought to be heard.

Jun Tardo and Mark Mandar Tanie Suano Mary Joy Villagomez Jojo Ambangan Burt Obedencio Gittel Saquilabon Francis Alolod Jolie N. Gargar

Address: 0044 Macapagal Highway, Tubod Iligan City Contact #: (063) 223-2508 Fax: (063) 223-3568 Email: kilusangmaralitarural@gmail.com Blog: kilusangmaralita.blogspot.com Facebook: Kilusang Maralita sa Kanayunan

Contact Persons: Alejandro Sarren (Chairperson) Jun Tardo (Secretariat) Mark Mandar (Secretariat)