Eden Entroduction said she saw a glimmer of hope after watching President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. promise land distribution to farmers during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22.
“Narinig ko ang sinabi niya ay ibigay niya lahat ang titulo sa naka-CLOA na lupa (I heard him say he will distribute all titles to those who have Certificates of Land Ownership Award),” Entroduction told the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).
She is the chairperson of the Hacienda Vicenta Farm Workers Association (HVFWA), a group composed mostly of former farm workers at L.N. Agustin Farms Inc. in La Castellana town.
Her husband and about 30 others were declared in 2012 as qualified beneficiaries of land distribution under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), a social justice government program that modernizes the country’s feudal structure of agriculture by granting landless farmers and farm workers ownership of agricultural lands.
Before each of them could be issued a CLOA covering about one hectare of land, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) granted the landowner’s application for land use conversion in August 2020.
The farm workers appealed the DAR decision, but this was dismissed. They have since asked Malacañang to review the decision. The review is pending.
The struggle of the Hacienda Vicenta farmers was the subject of a PCIJ investigation and a documentary by prizewinning filmmaker Ditsi Carolino.
PROMISE OF LAND
“Ang reaction ko pagkatapos ko nakinig [ng SONA] ay, ‘Yes, may chance pala (My immediate reaction was, ‘Yes, we still have a chance),’” Entroduction said.
“Pero kahapon pinadalhan kami ng summon. Medyo natakot kami (But we received a summon yesterday. We are a little concerned),” she said.
Entroduction, her husband and more than two dozens of former Hacienda Vicenta farm workers and their families occupied a lot in the farmland in early July to assert ownership of the property.
Entroduction said they hoped to gain public support for their case. But she said they are short on food supply and rains have destroyed their tent a number of times.
“Ang iba lumalabas para maghanap ng pagkain. Pero wala ngang trabaho. ‘Yun ang pinamalungkot sa sitwasyon namin (Some of our members had to leave our camp to find food. But there are no jobs. It’s the hardest thing about our situation),” she said.
The landowner has since filed a complaint against them for forcible entry. A mediation hearing is scheduled on Tuesday, July 30. — Carmela Fonbuena/PCIJ.org