Farmers’ vigil in Mendiola to mark Aquino’s 100th day marred by clashes

Clashes erupted between protesting farmers and police operatives in Mendiola Wednesday night, as militant groups started their two-day vigil to mark President Benigno Aquino III’s 100th day in office. Earlier on Wednesday afternoon, farmers’ groups marched to the Chino Roces bridge (Mendiola bridge) near Malacañang Palace in Manila from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) office in Quezon City to protest the Aquino’s government “disregard" for land reform. The protesting groups included Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and its counterpart federations in Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog, Alyansa ng mga Magsasaka sa Gitnang Luzon (AMGL) and Katipunan ng mga Samahang Magbubukid ng Timog Katagalugan (KASAMA-TK). According to a report in GMA News’ “Saksi", at least seven of the 300 rallyists were hurt during clashes that broke out around 7 p.m. Wednesday night when police tried to disperse the protest action.
The seven, who sustained mostly head injuries, were brought to the Philippine General Hospital for treatment. “Hangga’t hindi binibigyan ng atensyon ng pamahalaan ang mga isyu ng mga magsasaka, babalik at babalik kami rito sa Mendiola," KASAMA-TK spokesperson Nestor Villanueva said in an interview with GMANews.TV on Wednesday night. (So long as the government does not give attention to farmers’ issues, we will return to Mendiola again and again.) He added that his fellow farmers are already “furious" because Aquino has not mentioned anything about land reform during his first 100 days in office. The Mendiola bridge, often the setting of confrontations between rallyists and police during past administrations, is also the site of a massacre of farmer-demonstrators in 1987 during the presidency of Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, the current president’s mother. The farmers will spend the night at the St. Anthony Parish Church, also in Manila. Despite the violent dispersal, they will return to Mendiola early morning of Thursday, according to Villanueva. Policemen from Manila Police District Station 4 meanwhile remain stationed near the farmers. Last week, the same farmer groups burned 100 pictures of President Aquino to protest the government’s supposed lack of interest in land reform and other peasant issues. (See: Farmers burn PNoy pictures to protest ‘disregard’ of land reform) President Aquino still has shares in Hacienda Luisita, Inc., the corporation which owns the controversial 6,453-hectare sugar plantation in Tarlac managed by the Cojuangco family. (See: Holding on: A Hacienda Luisita timeline from the Spanish to the Noynoy eras) The case of the sugar plantation has been pending before the Supreme Court since 2006. The high court formed last month a mediation panel to try to settle the land dispute, but a faction of the farmers from the hacienda has recently refused to participate in the proceedings. (See: Luisita farmers walk out of SC mediation proceedings) When he was campaigning for president, Aquino vowed to redistribute the Cojuangco-owned Hacienda Luisita lands to farmer-beneficiaries by June 2014. (See: Noynoy: Hacienda Luisita distributed to farmers by 2014)—With Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMANews.TV