CBCP slams DAR,
Reds,
landlords for CARP failure
BISHOP Broderick Pabillo, chairman of the
Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) -
National Secretariat for Social Action (Nassa), blamed the
Department of Agrarian Reform, the landlords and the leftists
for the failure of land reform to improve the lot of poor
farmers in the country.
Pabillo said government should consider
overhauling the "disorganized" DAR to pave the way for the
implementation of a "real" land reform program. "Sa halip na
pumanig sa mga magsasaka, pumapanig sila (DAR) sa mga may-ari.
Sa totoo lang, hindi nagka-reform dahil sa ang mga ahensya ng
gobyerno na dapat tumulong ay hindi kumilos," Pabillo said.
He also slammed the landlords: "Sinasabi nila
may development na gagawin. But development at the expense of
farmers?" And the communists: "Alam nila kapag successful ang
DAR, wala na silang ipaglalaban. Kaya habang walang land reform,
ang unrest na ito'y mangyayari sa mga kanayunan natin."
Pabillo made the remarks after the farmers
from Sumilao, Bukidnon, whom it supports, returned to Manila to
press for the cessation of San Miguel Food's development of the
144-hectare land they are claiming into an agro-industrial area.
Over the weekend, the farmers expressed hope
that a compromise agreement reportedly being ironed out with
SMFI will do the trick.
Pabillo also reiterated the CBCP's stand that the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program should be extended beyond
June, when its legal life is set to expire. - Gerard Naval
