Gabriela Women’s Partylist, on Friday, June 10, demanded the immediate release of over 90 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and advocates in Tinang, Concepcion, Tarlac.
“Tumitindig ang Gabriela Partylist laban sa iligal at marahas na pag-aresto at pagkulong sa 93 na ARBs at tagapagtanggol ng mga magsasaka (Gabriela Partylist stands up against the illegal and violent arrest and detention of 93 ARBs and defenders of farmers),” said Gabriela.
The statement was released a day after 93 farmers and advocates were arrested in Hacienda Tinang on Thursday, June 9, while they were conducting a collective land preparation activity by clearing about two hectares of the 200-hectares sugarcane plantation.
This collective land preparation activity that the farmers were doing before they were arrested is part of the ARBs’ assertion of their right to the land.
“Higit na dapat nating suportahan ang bungkalan ng mga magsasaka lalo sa konteksto ng matinding importasyon ng produktong agrikultural, karahasan laban sa magsasaka, at laganap na kawalan ng lupa sa bansa (We must further support the cultivation of farmers especially in the context of heavy importation of agricultural products, violence against farmers, and widespread landlessness in the country),” Gabriela added.
Meanwhile, in a televised interview over CNN Philippines on Friday, June 10, PLt. Jenny Tolentino of Tarlac Police Public Information Office (PIO) claimed that the farmers who declared ownership of land in Hacienda Tinang were “holding illegal papers.”
“Ang natanggap naming report ay iligal ang hawak nilang papeles at hindi totoong sila ang may-ari ng lupa na binungkal nila. Hindi pa po sa kanila ang lupa na sinasabi nila (The report we received was that they were holding illegal papers and they were not really the owner of the land they had cultivated. The land they claim is not theirs),” said Tolentino.
Farmers’ group Malayang Kilusang Samahan ng Magsasaka ng Tinang (MAKISAMA-Tinang), whose members were arrested on Thursday morning, refuted this statement, reiterating that the papers they have presented are legitimate and granted by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).