Ahead of Peasant Month, farmer organizations denounced persisting state-sanctioned human rights abuses and corporate land-grabbing in San Jose Del Monte (SJDM), Bulacan.
At least 20 counts of human rights offenses were committed by the 80th Infantry Battalion (IB) against the Bagsakan farmers of SJDM from June 18 to Aug. 20, said Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) in a forum held alongside two other agrarian justice groups last Sept. 20 at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
According to Rex Cesora of Tanggol Magsasaka, the violations include military encampments near farming areas, forced surrenders, threats of arrests and abductions, and coercions to sign documents of disaffiliation from local agrarian reform movements. These findings were recorded during a fact-finding mission conducted last Aug. 20 by various peasant organizations.
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He added that further red-taggings by the 80th IB endanger more than 400 SJDM farming families as they “blur the line between civilians and armed combatants,” breaching International Humanitarian Law provisions under Articles 48 to 52 of the Geneva Convention’s Additional Protocols of 1977.
The said articles primarily aim to ensure civilians are protected against “dangers arising from military operations” and are not the “objects of attack” — acts or threats of violence intended to spread terror.
“The ongoing military operations have tarnished the reputation of local farmers’ organizations and disrupted their activities. With their movements restricted, agricultural production has been affected. Many farmers, fearing for their safety, are now unable to properly tend to their crops and animals,” Cesora said.
Common across the Philippines, “bagsakan” market centers allow small-scale farmers to directly sell their produce without unfair fees imposed by intermediaries.
Development aggressions
The militarization of the Bagsakan farming areas surges as commercial encroachments swarm SJDM, the most populated city in Bulacan to border Metro Manila.
Since 2016, 91 percent of the city’s 1,913-hectare agricultural zone has undergone conversion to non-farming sites, most of which have been reallocated for “special development” purposes.
The construction of the MRT Line 7, which spans from Quezon City to SJDM, has spurred business investments to pour in the city, prompting companies to build banks, malls and real estate establishments.
However, development projects, when pursued with violence, serve only the interests of a few, said Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan Chairperson Cecilia Rapiz, who revealed recent intimidations of both soldiers and corporations against her in SJDM.
“Napakasaklap sa amin na kaming mga magsasaka na . . . naglilikha ng pagkain ng mamamayang Pilipino, kami pa ang nabibiktima [ng karahasan] dahil sa lupa na ang gusto nila [ay] mapalayas nila lahat ng mga magsasaka dahil sa sarili nilang interes,” Rapiz said in the forum.
The Bagsakan farmers have faced harassment from armed personnel hired by Araneta Properties Inc. (API) since Greggy Araneta III, the brother-in-law of Marcos Jr. via presidential sister Irene Marcos, started heading the company in 1995.
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Between 1999 and 2022, the goons of Araneta killed four farmers, wounded two, opened fire at eight, demolished houses, shut down major roads and closed off farms in the city.
Currently claiming a total of 3,500 hectares of land in SJDM amid ongoing real estate ventures under the API, the Aranetas are among the clans awarded farmlands in the city by the late Marcos Sr.
Rapiz further urged the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to probe and order the withdrawal of the 80th IB from the Bagsakan farming communities.
“Sa CHR, kailangan namin mag-conduct kayo ng ‘know your rights’ doon sa kanayunan dahil matindi ang epekto. Hindi lang po sa bata, [ngunit] sa matanda. ‘Yung mga magsasaka hindi makapunta sa kanilang mga taniman,” she added.
During his closing speech in the forum, KMP Chairperson Danilo Ramos roused the public to collectively defend farmers against human rights abuses and land-grabbing.
“Napakahalaga na ang paggigiit ng mga magsasaka para sa lupa ay samahan ng malawak na suporta at pakikiisa sa mga kabataan at estudyante at sa mamamayang Pilipino . . . Gumamit man sila ng AFP, PNP at paramilitary, ang ating sandigan, kamulatan, mahigpit na pagkakaisa ng hanay [at] solidong lakas ang bibigo sa kanila,” he said.
As of press time, the CHR has not conducted any investigations into the harassment of Bagsakan farmers in SJDM, while the local government stated that “they cannot do anything” since the property is privately owned.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story was submitted as a requirement to the J102 (Researching and Reporting the News) class under Senior Lecturer 1 Joyce Babe Pañares.
