Senator Imee Marcos on Thursday, January 19 called out the Philippine National Police (PNP) for harassing an onion farmer who recently testified before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform’s investigation.
“Hands off lang po sa mga testigo ng Senado!” the sister of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said in a statement.
According to the senator, the police went to the witness’ home and other onion farmers upon the orders of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
“Natatakot na ang mga magsasaka ng sibuyas sa biglaang pagkakatok ng pulis kagabi hanggang ngayong umaga upang papirmahin ng sinumpaang salaysay na nagbabaliktad sa kanilang ibinunyag sa Senado nung Martes (The onion farmers are afraid of the sudden knocking of the police last night until this morning to sign a sworn statement that reverses what they revealed in the Senate on Tuesday),” Marcos further said.
“Utos raw ng DILG at ng NTF-ELCAC: CPP- NPA ba ang turing natin sa maliliit na magsasaka sa liblib? (It was allegedly an order by the DILG and the NTF-ELCAC: are we treating our small farmers in rural areas as CPP-NPA?” she pointed out.
“Hands off po sa ating mga testigo, lalu't nagsasabi ng totoo, masakit man marinig (Hands off from the witnesses, especially since they are just saying the truth, even if it hurts to accept it),” she added.
The lawmaker also shared a photo of an advisory from DILG Pangasinan provincial office signed by Director Virgilio Sison that sought additional information about the reported case of five farmers who committed suicide.
She also shared a copy of the police report dated Jan. 18, 2023 that showed police officers conducted an interview with Gallardo.
Last Monday, the national president of the Young Farmers Challenge Club of the Philippines Inc., Elvin Jerome Laceda, presented Gallardo, wife of one of the farmers who commited suicide last year during the Senate hearing presided by Sen. Cynthia Villar.
According to Laceda, Gallardo’s husband was driven to commit suicide after he incurred millions worth of debt after their crop was devastated by army worms. Due to importation, the farmer failed to recover from his losses.