By Chito Chavez Farmers and agricultural workers from Central Luzon will troop on Tuesday (Jan. 22) to Mendiola in Manila to commemorate 32 years of Mendiola Massacre. The caravan started in Cabanatuan City last week and will end with a protest rally along Mendiola right near Malacanang. Farmers led by the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon (AMGL) said that at least 51 of the survivors and the families of the 13 fatalities have sought justice. Nueva Ecija is among the highly-militarized provinces in Central Luzon, with troops from the 7th Infantry Division (ID) deployed there along with the troops of the 84th Infantry Battalion (IB), the 2nd Mechanized Infantry Company, and 3rd Mechanized IBPA deployed in its towns. "Land grabbing and land-use conversion in Central Luzon are rampant. Farmers are being terrorized by state forces. We demand land, peace, and justice," said AMGL leader Joseph Canlas. AMGL was among the groups that camped at the then Ministry of Agrarian Reform (MAR) in Quezon City to Malacañang to demand land distribution more than three decades ago. The march ended in the gruesome massacre in Mendiola on January 22, 1987. On January 15, 1987, farmers led by Kilusang Magbubuid ng Pilipinas (KMP) encamped at MAR. They presented their issues and demands to then President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino which included giving of land for free to farmers, to end the retention of lands by landlords, and stop the land amortization payments. On January 20, 1987, a dialogue between KMP leaders and then Agrarian Reform Minister Heherson Alvarez ensued and Alvarez promised to bring the farmers' concerns to Cory's attention during the next day's cabinet meeting on January 22. "On that fateful day, as thousands of farmers and supporters were holding a peaceful program along Mendiola street, heavily-armed Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police (PC-INP) forces fired at the protesting farmers. Thirteen farmers were killed and 51 were severely wounded. Blood spilled on the streets, dead bodies sprawled along Mendiola and Legarda streets. Farmers were angrily shouting and crying for help as we hold Cory Aquino accountable for the killings. Until today, no justice was delivered to the farmers, victims and survivors of Mendiola Massacre. Walang lupa at walang hustisya para sa mga magsasaka (No land and no justice for the farmers)," said KMP leader and Anakpawis nominee Rafael Mariano. Mariano, who was one of the survivors of the Mendiola Massacre, was secretary general of KMP when the bloodbath happened.