BACOLOD CITY – In response to the demand of Task Force Mapalad, Stephen Leonidas, provincial agrarian reform officer of Negros Occidental, was relieved effective June 26 by Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pa-ngandaman.

Leonidas, whose reaction was that reassignments are normal in his work, said he is ready to report to the regional office as soon as his replacement, Teresita Depinosa of the DAR office in Siquijor, is in place.

Agrarian reform beneficiaries affiliated with Task Force Mapalad have accused Leonidas of creating the condition leading to the violent June 4 incident in Hacienda Velez-Malaga in La Castellana, Negros Occidental which led to the killing of two farmers and injuries to six others.

TFM president Rodito Angeles claimed that Leonidas also held unauthorized negotiations with Velez-Malaga owner Roberto Cuenca which resulted in a three-month delay in the conduct of a demarcation survey for the 53 hectares where they were installed on March 22.

After the demarcation survey on June 21, which triggered a clash between hacienda workers and policemen escorting DAR personnel, TFM members were barred from clearing the land awarded to them.

On the other hand, farmer’s groups Alab Katipunan- Negros, Kongreso ng Pagkakaisa ng Maralita sa Kanayunan, and Movement for Agrarian and Rural Advancement on Wednesday hurled the same accusation at TFM, claiming that it was TFM which "orchestrated the violence" last June 4.

AK secretary general Ben Solilapsi said on Wednesday that the incident was planned by TFM to gain propaganda mileage, citing how TFM members arrived at the hacienda with a freelance photojournalist before the violence broke out, and 30 minutes after this, other TFM members were holding a lightning rally at the DAR provincial office as well as a press conference in Metro Manila condemning the incident.

The three security guards of the hacienda allegedly responsible for killing TFM members Ely Tupas and Alejandro Garcesa are now in jail on murder charges. The guards claimed TFM members assaulted them with homemade shotguns, slingshots and cane cutters.

Negros Occidental police director Rosendo Franco has called on Solilapsi to substantiate his allegations against TFM and file a formal complaint that will serve as the basis of an investigation.