PALAYAN CITY—
Some 200 farmers from five barangays in this city and neighboring Cabanatuan
are not about to wish outgoing Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of
staff, Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. a warm send-off as he retires from the
military service next month.
The farmers want
Catapang’s retirement benefits withheld pending the resolution of a class suit
filed against him and two other military officers for allegedly grabbing
portions of their farmlands two years ago.
Catapang, who
will reach the mandatory retirement age of 56 on July 11, has been making
farewell calls to troops this week. He said he just wants to have some rest
after his 38-year military career.
Fourteen of the
protesting farmers are the petitioners in a civil case for forcible entry
against Catapang and Lieutenant Colonels Benito Doniego Jr. and Alfredo
Patarata.
A petition for
review of the case has been filed by them before the Court of Appeals.
At the time the
suit was filed, Catapang - of Philippine Military Academy class 1981 -
was a major general of the Philippine Army and commanding general of the 7th
Infantry Division stationed at the Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation here.
The 14 are Julius
Bautista, Carmelita Manayan, Rufino Flores, Garvacio Aregando and Arsenio Laranang
of Barangay Caballero; Florentina Juan, Bienvenido Baldemor, Elizalde Estigoy,
Julio Diaz and Wenceslao Bautista, all of Barangay Ganaderia; Carmelita Valmote
of Barangay Caimito, Jose Ginnodela Merced of Barangay Manacnac, all of this
city; Dalisay Gadian of Barangay Bangad and Gideon Acosta of Barangay Kapitan
Pepe, both of Cabanatuan City.
They faced the
media on Thursday night to press for justice in connection with the case.
The petitioners
are tilling a 200-hectare farmland in Caballero and Ganaderia for at least 10
years, with other farmers claiming a longer period.
The Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) described the farmlands, a titled
property owned by the city government, as a “patrimonial property” or a
registered property in the name of the Republic.
Laranang, a
retired sergeant, said he has been tilling his three-hectare land since 1984
when he was still a private first class. He took the place of original
petitioner Florentina Juan who was already deceased.
Paulo Bautista,
79, who is not a petitioner in the case but is one of the affected farmers,
said that they have been tilling their land for at least 78 years, dating back
to the time of his father Primitivo and grandfather Basilio.
He showed newsmen
a receipt of tax payments for the land made in 1937.
“Bagosana
mag-retire si General Catapang, huwag niya kaming kakalimutan (Hopefully before
he retires, General Catapang won’t forget us),” he said.
Others, who
sought anonymity, said they want President Aquino to temporarily withhold
Catapang’s retirement benefits until the suit has been resolved with finality.
Catapang and the
other respondents said the subject farmlands form part of the military
reservation and that the AFP, through the Army has long been in legal and
physical possession de jure of the entire expanse.
He claimed the
Army has been occupying and possessing the subject property as far back as 1955
when then-President Ramon Magsaysay issued Presidential Proclamation 237
reserving the area for military purposes and withdrawing them from sale or
settlement.
The proclamation
was amended on March 13,2006 when then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued
Presidential Proclamation 1033 including the 200 hectares among the areas
reserved for the off-base housing site for Army soldiers.
Court records
showed that sometime in March 2013, Doniego and Patarata - on orders of
Catapang and assisted by armed soldiers from Fort Magsaysay - entered their
farmlands “by means of threat and intimidation and without any authority
from the Department of Agrarian Reform and the courts” prevented the farmers
from possessing and cultivating these lands.
The petitioners
claimed that Doniego initially told them that they were putting up a detachment
of the paramilitary group Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU)
supposedly to guard the forests.
Later, however,
Doniego told them they would be ejected “whether they liked it or
not.”Afterwards, they claimed their farmlands were flattened with the use of
bulldozers.
The petitioning
farmers then filed a civil case for forcible entry before the municipal trial
court in cities (MTCC) which ruled in their favor in a decision issued on
October 8,2013.
The case was
elevated to the Palayan City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 40 which
reversed the MTCC decision in its ruling on December 9,2014.
The farmers
assailed the decision and filed a motion for reconsideration but their counsel,
Feliciano Buenaventura, suffered an ailment and later withdrew for health
reasons.
Later, they filed
a petition for review with the Court of Appeals.
In their review
petition, the petitioners said the RTC gravely erred in reversing and setting
aside the MTCC decision and in ruling on the basis of issues relating to
ownership, land registration and recovery of possession instead of forcible
entry.
It said that the
court also erred in ordering the petitioners to vacate the farmlands in spite
of the fact that this relief was not prayed for by the respondents.
http://manilastandardtoday.com/2015/06/28/farmers-press-raps-vs-afp/
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