Military threatening Bohol farmers?

CEBU, Philippines – The military has allegedly threatened farmers in Bohol that they might not get benefits from the government if they continue joining peasant organizations.

This is one of the findings of the International Fact-Finding Mission organized by farmer groups, non-government organizations and land reform advocates such as the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Hugpong sa Mag-uumang Bol-anon (HUMABOL), Farmers Development Center (FARDEC), and the Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) in Bohol from September 20 to 22.

KMP national chairman Rafael Mariano said they aim to assert and defend the initiatives and victories of Boholano farmers in their struggle for land and human rights.

The fact-finding team interviewed farmers, government and military officials, and NGO workers in Tagbilaran City, Mabini, Trinidad, Dagohoy, Antequera, Maribojoc, Calape, Loon, Talibon, Carmen, Ubay, San Miguel, and Bien Unido on the impact of the militarization and development program.

Mariano said the fact-finding mission revealed that farmers in Bohol are reportedly threatened with reprisals for being members of HUMABOL and are persuaded to leave the provincial peasant federation in exchange for dole outs distributed under the Countryside Development Program -Purok Power Movement (CDP-PPM).

CDP-PPM is reportedly under the Bohol provincial government and is being implemented by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, especially the 2nd Special Forces Battalion.

Mariano said while the government has declared Bohol as insurgency-free, personnel of the Philippine Army are still spread out in the province and even set a special military force camp within the vicinity of the TTIFA, near the rice mill.

“Dahil daw strategic daw ang location. Wala na daw nag-o-operate sa unit ng NPA pero bakit napakarami pa ring military sa Bohol? Isa lang ang makukuha nating nosyon dyan. Eh dahil lumalaki lalo ang operasyon ng HUMABOL,” he said.

Mariano also expressed concern over the militarization of agrarian reform areas and communities in Bohol.

Members who leave HUMABOL are allegedly recruited to join organizations set up by the military that are then used to vilify the leaders and members of HUMABOL chapters and NGOs that support them, and are prevented to support the latter’s programs.

Aside from military personnel, representatives of local government agencies also allegedly warned farmers to stop joining the activities of their organizations; otherwise they will not be included as beneficiaries of government projects.

There were also reports of CDP-PPM coordinators allegedly bribing residents of Bohol with livestock, rice and seedlings so as to stop them from supporting HUMABOL.

On July 22, 2014, 40 military members, along with CDP-PPM project coordinator and Provincial Agricultural Officer Liza Quirog, barged into Sitio Panaghiusa Rice Mill in Barangay San Vicente in Trinidad town hosted by the Trinidad-Talibon Integrated Farmers Association (TTIFA), a chapter of HUMABOL.

They allegedly entered the warehouse, took photos of the facility and equipment, and intimated the resident staff.

The 300-square meter, medium-scale rice milling and marketing facility serves 30 barangays across Bohol and offers lower milling fees to local farmers compared to commercial mills.

On June 7, the Bohol Electric Cooperative-II allegedly cut the electrical supply of the rice mill that left them without power and hampered their operations.

Estrella Catarata, FARDEC Board of Trustees chairperson, said they were alarmed that the vilification of the leaders and members of HUMABOL could be a prelude to extrajudicial killings.

Catarata said HUMABOL, which is present in more than 75 percent in the province of Bohol, has been extending help to aggrieved farmers in terms of land problems.

AFP Denies

The Armed Forces of the Philippines-Central Command denied the allegations.

In a statement, CentCom spokesperson Lt. Col. Jim Alagao said the allegations against the AFP is completely baseless since it was the local government unit which requested the continued presence of soldiers in Trinidad.

By retaining the soldiers, the LGU offered a piece of land to be used as a detachment for them which they are now utilizing, he said further.

Alagao denied hampering the residents and local farmers of agricultural production, saying they put soldiers in Bohol not to increase militarization in the area but to ensure that the citizens are protected from threats and to perform non-traditional functions of the AFP.

Nevertheless, Alagao said, Centcom is verifying the allegations that soldiers are harassing NGOs.

He stressed that even though Bohol is declared insurgency-free, it does not follow that the military will leave the province.

Colonel Leopoldo Galon Jr., commander of the Civil Relations Service Cebu, said allegations like these are to be expected from the left-leaning organizations in order to divert people’s attention. —/NSA (FREEMAN)