'Cops started NAPC clash' - Anakpawis

MANILA, Philippines - The violent dispersal of protesters Thursday inside the main office of the National Anti-Poverty Commission stemmed from the alleged plan of the NAPC chief Joel Rocamora to use P11.7  billion of the coconut levy funds for "tainted" projects of the Aquino administration.

Anakpawis partylist said that around 10 a.m., hundreds of small coconut farmers from Southern Tagalog and Bicol provinces entered the NAPC compound.

Policemen securing the area fired fire extinguisher at the rallyists and 30 minutes later, the rallyists held a peaceful program condemning the incident. 
By 11 a.m., Quezon City policemen, armed with armalite, went to the protest area. The presence of gun-carrying police ensued another heated debate and led to another scuffle between the police and the protesters, the group said. 
"The ambitious plan of NAPC chief Joel Rocamora to sneak out P 11.67 B of coco levy funds for the highly questionable projects of President Benigno Aquino III  is the main reason why small coconut farmers trooped to the anti-poverty office to stop the ruling mafia in Malacañang from pursuing this first-rate plunder of the coco levy funds," Anakpawis vice chairperson Fernando Hicap said.

Hicap issued the statement in response to Rocamora's public statement charging Anakpawis party list and other peasant organizations of destroying public property in order to gain media mileage.

"Mr. Rocamora is a very irresponsible person. The issue here which he always evade is the public inquiry regarding the grand sinister plan of NAPC to partake more than P11 billion of coconut levy funds for the government corruption checkered projects like the controversial Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) and other grossly anti-poor programs," he said.

Anakpawis and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP)  are key organizers of the big rally to be held today and friday which will be participated in by  1,000 farmers from Bicol, Quezon, Aurora and Cagayan provinces led by the militant peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and the claimants movement Coco Levy Funds Ibalik sa Amin (CLAIM). - Dennis Carcamo