Sumilao farmers end month-long ‘walk’

Farmers of Sumilao, Bukidnon, are heading home this Christmas but vowed to come back to Manila if the government fails to deliver its promise. “Today (Friday), we end this journey of 1,700 kilometers, but the journey toward achieving our 144 hectare land continues. Should the government fail to live up and make good its promises, we are willing to retrace our steps from Sumilao back to Malacañang. We are even ready to make sacrifices beyond that," the group’s statement read. Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo who is also head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) National Secretariat for Social Action (Nassa) said the Church will be picking up the cudgels for the farmers as they head home to be with their families this Christmas. “Ang Simbahan ay patuloy na susubaybayan kung tutuparin ng gobyerno ang kanilang ipinangako sa mga magsasaka ng Sumilao (The Catholic Church will continue to check the government’s fulfillment of its promises to farmers)," said Pabillo, who will head the CBCP task force that will monitor the case. Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales declared that the Catholic Church will spearhead a separate appeal to San Miguel Foods Incorporated (SMFI) to look beyond the legal aspect of the issue and instead adopt a moral position. At the same time, Rosales urged food and beverage giant to reconsider its plans to appeal the case before the courts. It has 15 days to do so. Malacañang on Tuesday ordered the re-classification of the land from agro-industrial to an agricultural land under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). “Although it (order) was a milestone on our case, it does not make our journey complete. Yes, this government has made a crucial move, it has to do a thousand more," the farmers said. Pabillo said the Higaonon farmers will just wait at home for the cease-and-desist order (CDO) for SMFI to stop the ongoing construction in the Sumilao land. They are also waiting for the notice of coverage that will identify the rightful user of the land. The 56-farmers' group began their march from Sumilao to Manila last October 10 and reached Manila on December 3. Pabillo also confirmed that they have sent formal communication to SMFI representatives. “I believe President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has already called SMFI and Cardinal Rosales has already sent a letter to Malacañang. But no response had been made yet. We have to understand that it is already the Holidays so the officials and legal teams might be on vacation already," Pabillo related. The farmers are petitioning for the return of the land, which former owner Norberto Quisumbing promised to rehabilitate within five years but was eventually sold to SMFI, which is now constructing a hog farm. - GMANews.TV