Philippine activists locked in deadly struggle
October 24, 2018
The brutal killing of nine sugar plantation workers on Saturday in Sagay City on the central Philippine island of Negros puts an ugly spotlight on the disintegration of a government land reform policy into violence and murder.
The murdered workers were members of the leftist labor group National Federation of Sugarcane Workers (NFSW). They had set up tents to assert workers' claims on unused farmland that had been earmarked for redistribution under a government program set up to help poor farmers. However, the program has not been implemented effectively and farmers are coming into conflict with landowners.
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After they set up tents on the Hacienda Nene plantation, unidentified assailants fired at the sugar workers, killing nine. Reports indicate that the perpetrators incinerated three of the bodies.
The Philippine National Police said that the suspects may have been gunmen hired either by the landowner, other land claimants or communist rebels.
"The group that entered Hacienda Nene had no legal basis to occupy the plantation, but we condemn the killings," Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary John Castriciones said in a press conference on Tuesday. "This is definitely unlawful and contrary to the position of our administration," said Castriciones.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesperson said the president was "deeply perturbed" by the killings and had ordered "a thorough and impartial investigation."
Failure of land redistribution scheme
NFSW chairperson Rolando Rillo said that the current hacienda system and poor implementation of agrarian reform leave farmers poor and desperate, with limited options to assert their right to land ownership.
According to Rillo, under the current wholesale system, landowners, known as "hacienderos," hire groups of 10-15 farmers to till a small plot of land for a lump sum fee of about $20 (€17.54). On average, farmers only earn about $8 per week.
"If the government were serious about agrarian reform, it would not have taken this long to implement the law," Rillo told DW.
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Apart from demanding justice for the families of the slain victims, Rillo said that NFSW is calling for a sweeping increase of the daily minimum wage to $13 and the fulfillment of the agrarian reform program.
In the late 1980s, the Agrarian Reform Law was enacted to redistribute an estimated 20 million acres (8 million hectares) of public and private agricultural lands to landless farmworkers.
The law called for landowners to be compensated for the turnover, and farmworkers would finally own the land that they cultivate. The measure was intended to alleviate the massive level of rural poverty.
However, it has been met with much resistance. Landowners circumvented the law and today, vast tracts of land remain in the ownership of landed families and corporations.
"Land disputes will continue until true agrarian reform is put in place. Until then, farmers and peasant leaders will continue to die," said Rillo.
Peasant leaders targeted
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has launched a fact-finding mission to investigate the killings.
"The government must demonstrate its sincerity to hold perpetrators to account to counter the perception that a culture of impunity now prevails," CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia told DW, adding that filing charges against the assailants would be an indication of a "firm commitment" from the government.
De Guia admitted that this would be difficult, because victims' families will be hesitant to come forward until they recognize the government is sincerely trying to bring them justice.
Agrarian violence in the Philippines is not new, but rights groups say it has been increasing in frequency.
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De Guia said that they have been receiving an increased number of reports on militarization in farming communities, harassment and surveillance.
Based on independent investigations conducted by the human rights group Karapatan, there have been 142 peasant farmers murdered since the Duterte administration came to power in 2016.
"Peasant leaders were targeted even during past administrations," Roneo Clamor, deputy secretary-general of Karapatan, told DW. "We have seen an increase in the systematic killing and targeting of the peasant leaders during the Duterte regime," he added.
According to Clamor, the government's aggressive counterinsurgency program in response to collapsed peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines has resulted in protest actions by peasant leaders and other activism being labeled as plots to overthrow the government.
"Any kind of dissent is now being tagged as insurgency. We have reports of people who are 'red-tagged' as being killed, disappeared or detained," said Clamor.
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Breakdown of peace process
According to military historian and security expert Jose Antonio Custodio, it is not the collapse of the peace talks that have contributed to the violence but the prevailing culture of impunity.
"Peace talks have broken down or have been stalled in the past. The Duterte government, with its rhetoric that justifies killings as in the case of the war on drugs and the bullying of institutions, has created a culture of impunity that encourages violence," he told DW.
Custodio also warned that the military's overgeneralization of all left-wing groups, including student activists, as part of the communist underground, is dangerous.
"Given the current culture of impunity, it is possible that not only peasant leaders will be targets, but also student activists and minors. The military must be careful not to let its propaganda add to this," Custodio told DW.