Outgoing Vice President Leni Robredo on Saturday, June 11, urged authorities to respect human rights and the dignity of the farmers and land reform advocates they arrested in Hacienda Tinang in Concepcion, Tarlac.
The Vice President said it was clear the gathering was peaceful and had no other agenda except for the farmers’ intention to ensure a better life for their families.
“Umaasa kaming igagalang ang kanilang karapatang pantao; itatrato sila bilang kapwa-Pilipinong may dignidad; at magkakaroon ng makatarungang resolusyon ang insidenteng ito sa lalong madaling panahon (We are hoping that their human rights will be respected; they will be treated with dignity as a fellow Filipino; and there will be a just resolution to this incident at the soonest possible time),” Robredo stressed.
“Bagaman tinutukoy pa ang kabuuang detalye, ilang bagay ang malinaw: Mapayapa ang naganap na pagtitipon (Although the whole detail is still being probed, some things are clear: The gathering was peaceful),” she added.
Robredo said that there was no other goal for the farmers but to provide for their families, and that their supporters and other land reform advocates where there to unite with them.
On Thursday, June 9, authorities in Concepcion, Tarlac arrested 93 farmers, peasant rights advocates, and volunteers who took part in a “bungkalan” or land cultivation activity to show solidarity with the farmers struggling to claim the land they said the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) awarded to them in 1995.
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Urban poor group Kadamay said over 20 fully armed police stormed the farm to stop the activity.
The farmers and activists are expected to face charges relating to alleged malicious mischief, obstruction of justice, and illegal assembly complaints.