Sicogon farmers gain support from militant groups
Members of the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) – Panay here expressed support to the struggle for land of the displaced families in Sicogon Island, Carles, Illoilo.
In a statement, Bayan-Panay condemned the displacement of hundreds of families in Sicogon Island just to give way to the entry of the Sicogon Development Corporation (Sideco).
According to Edgar Pelayo, Secretary General of Bayan-Panay and Regional Council member of the Paghugpong sang Mangunguma sa Panay kag Guimaras (Pamanggas), the plight of the farmers and the affected families of Sicogon is a picture of the national government’s utter neglect of the interest of the people in favour of those private businesses and corporations.
“We express our full support to the struggle of the people of Sicogon for their land. Even if they were already displaced from their land, we believe that their strong will to go back to their homes will further inspire them to continue their fight,” added Pelayo.
The displaced families of Sicogon marked their protest action with a march from the town of Carles last February 10 going to the Iloilo Provincial Capitol. The long march, set to end on February 13, signalled their strong resolve to bring back their land which was taken by Sideco since 2007. The protesters declared that they were already in Sicogon Island way before Sideco entered the area in 1978. They also hope that the Iloilo provincial government will intervene to assist them in their struggle.
“This experience of the Sicogon people shows the very flaw of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp). The national government spent P150B for its implementation for over 20 years but failed to resolve the peasants’ struggle for land. So long as Carp implementation is within the framework of an economy that is export-oriented and import-dependent and that vast tracts of land continue remain in the hands of only a few, our peasants and farmers will never have a land of their own to till. That is why, BAYAN is not in favor of Carp extension. We are for the passage of House Bill 3059 or the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill filed by Anakpawis Partylist that seeks to address the land problem of our farmers,” addded Pelayo.
“We are very willing to extend our help to the Sicogon farmers because we believe that only through a united effort can we deliver a stronger protest against repressive schemes of our national government,” ended Pelayo.