Bishop slams harsh treatment of farmers at Batasan

MANILA, Philippines – An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is complaining that the House of Representatives badly treated the farmers and prevented them from entering the plenary hall to monitor the developments on the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reform (CARPER) bill.

“We are very disappointed, however, by the fact that Congress seems intent on excluding and intimidating the farmers who wish to witness and monitor the proceedings… The CARPER bill’s fate is intertwined with the lives of these landless farmers and it is but natural that they would wish to witness firsthand the deliberations on the floor,” Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said in a May 21 letter to Speaker Prospero Nograles.

Pabillo chairs the CBCP’s National Secretariat for Social Action Justice and Peace.

He told Nograles that the farmers reportedly received “hostile and unwarranted treatment” from the guards of the Batasang Pambansa complex.

Pabillo said last May 18, the 153 farmers executed a peaceful sit down strike outside the plenary hall. The next day they were prohibited from setting foot within the Batasan complex while the plenary deliberations on the CARPER bill was ongoing.

On May 20, known farmer-leader Jimmy Tadeo was also stopped at the gate and would only be allowed entrance if Nograles approves it.

Police officers and Batasan guards dismantled the farmers’ makeshift camp in front of the Batasan gates Friday, and there were reports that some farmers were beaten up during the demolition.

Pabillo told Nograles he sees no reason why the farmers “should be prohibited from witnessing the proceedings or from engaging in peaceful expression of protest.”

He said with only eight session days before Congress adjourns, he is holding the lawmakers to the promise they made President Arroyo that they will pass the CARPER bill before they go on leave.

Pabillo also asked Nograles to allow the farmers and their fellow advocates to attend the remaining sessions.