Is it a Triumph for the Sumilao Farmers?
December 17th, 2007 at 11:20 pm (General, National Politics)
The administration has revoked the conversion order on the disputed farm lands in Sumilao, Bukidnon. This is seen as a triumph for the Sumilao farmers who walked thousands of kilometers to make the administration take notice of their plight. While the land is now back into its original agricultural classification, there are still processes and procedures to be followed before the Sumilao farmers can be awarded and fully use the land.
It is, to certain extent, a triumph for the Sumilao farmers. In the bigger scheme of things, however, it gives light to the plight of the many landless farmers, and others who have been cheated from benefiting from the Comprehensive Agragrian Reform Program (CARP).
The case of the Hacienda Luisita farmers is still to be settled. And I am sure, there are hundreds (if not thousands) more landless farmers in the country who are still tilling the lands they do not own. While, CARP has been successful in some areas, many others still wait to benefit and gain from the program.
Needless to say, the plight of the Sumilao farmers, and the on-going dispute in Hacienda Luisita are only two examples of how flawed the CARP is, and how it can be manipulated to cheat its supposed beneficiaries. This calls for, not just an investigation into the legislation, but a review and revision of the intrinsically flawed CARP which, arguably, still favors the landowners, rather than the farmers.
Hopefully, the act of heroism by the Sumilao farmers will, not only, be a triumph for them, but for all the people, the hard-working Filipino farmers, as well.
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