Riled by the severe effects of the drought-spawned El Nino
phenomenon, some 6,000 farmers trooped here Wednesday and blocked motorists
plying the Cotabato–Davao highway on efforts to dramatize their misery and
prompt the provincial government to hasten measures on cushioning the effects
of the extreme weather condition.
Currently, traffic flow is totally paralyzed with hundreds
of vehicles and commuters alike stranded on both sides of the 220-kilometer
freeway connecting Cotabato and Davao
The farmers, who positioned themselves in front of the
National Food Authority warehouse situated along the highway, came from the
remote villages of this city and the towns of Arakan, Antipas, President Roxas,
Magpet, and Makilala, all in North Cotabato
province.
Pedro Arnado, chair of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas
(KMP)–North Cotabato chapter, said they are
urging the presence of the Governor Emmylou Mendoza for swift government
interventions on resolving their immediate needs.
The peasant are demanding free and dole-out distribution of
rice; subsidy of vegetable seeds and drought tolerant root crops; increase in
the price of local farm produce; and total suspension of military operations in
the province, among others.
The drought was felt in the province since November last
year and has so far exacted over PHP1-billion damage to agricultural crops.
Jessie Enid, executive assistant to the governor, said Mendoza
Meantime, hundreds of police and security personnel were
deployed around the NFA compound to prevent any illegal intrusion.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=871295
Unfortunately, this is another case of a Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) front organization exploiting the difficult situation facing ordinary Filipino farmers in order to generate anti-government propaganda, radicalize farmers, and expand CPP influence in the countryside.
ReplyDeleteThe Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP-Peasant Movement of the Philippines) is a CPP umbrella peasant front and member of the main CPP multisectoral, umbrella front group, the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-New Patriotic Alliance).