Armed soldiers take over disputed N. Ecija farmland

From the Manila Standard Today (Jul 20): Armed soldiers take over disputed N. Ecija farmland

PALAYAN CITY—Armed soldiers took over a disputed parcel of land here on Sunday  morning, rolling out barbed-wire fences as farmers watched helplessly after they were barred entry to their long-claimed turf following a three-day stand-off.

The takeover was led by Army Col. Emerito Pineda, who did not speak to reporters as his men installed the perimeter fences.

The farmers, whose families have been camping on a farm-to-market road in the area, said it is now uncertain how they can continue farming after the military cordoned it off and put up markings which read : “government property, no trespassing.”

“We could no longer plant. We could not even pull out our hand tractors,” said farmer Armando Ducusin.

Ducusin earlier borrowed money so he could start land and seeds preparation. But with what happened, he said poverty and starvation now stare his family in the face.

Felix Rombaoa, president of the local irrigators’ association, noted that the fences set up by the Army also cordoned off the irrigation canal built by the National Irrigation Administration in 1983.

Tension has been gripping the farming community since Tuesday when the soldiers faced off with farmers who were trying to fight off a Regional Trial Court (RTC) order evicting them from their farmlands.

Only 14 of the 200 farmers were covered by the order but even the other farmers were affected, they complained.

“They have been oppressing us when they are supposed to protect us, being the soldiers of the people,” the farmers said.

The petitioners said they have been tilling their farmlands for at least 10 years, with other farmers claiming a longer period.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2015/07/20/armed-soldiers-take-over-disputed-n-ecija-farmland/