The old Philippine State harasses the peasantry
Featured image: police officers and military harasses peasants in Cavite. Source: Kasama’s Facebook account.
According to the denounces made by Philippine peasant organizations, the old State has intensified its harassment operations during the past week in Lupang Ramos and Barangay Tartaria, both in Cavite. The peasantry is facing an increasing military and police presence. On 9th of September the repressive forces established checkpoints at the entrance of Lupang Ramos, supposedly to control the ban on carrying weapons on the elections which will begin on 2025. On September 10, 50 military and police personnel of a joint force formed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the Ugnay Task Force and officers from the local government arrived there. When the repressive forces were confronted by the peasants, they admitted their intention to enter in the area and establish permanently military presence there.
The peasantry, being aware of the real intentions of the repressive forces, quickly erected a barricade and prevented the entrance of the troops. There were also soldiers and police personnel in Barangay Tartaria, where four police cars, a 6×6 military truck with machine guns at the roof and three V150 military armored vehicles went there. All of this was in order to frighten the peasants of the area.
The peasants from both territories have been struggling since long time against the landgrabbing big landlords, such as the families Ayala, Ramos and Aguinaldo, who covet the lands for their projects with monopolies and big real state projects. Because of that entire peasant communities are being frightened and harassed and their rights are being denied.
The Association of Peasants and Legitimate Owners of the Land (Katipunan ng mga Samahang Magbubukid – Kasama) denounce that those cases of harassment are occurring often, as well the cases of abducting peasant leaders and peasantry rights lawyers. In the Quezon province, the peasant Roberto Mendoza was detained on September 2 by the State forces after her daughter, the peasant leader Lieshel Mendoza was accused of financing terrorism and violating the “anti-terrorism” law.
As “human rights” groups denounce, two organizers of the youth have been abducted by the State forces in Cagayan Valley. One of them is an organizer and lawyer for the rights of the migrant workers, and the other one is an activist for the environment defense. Day after day the number of forcedly disappeared is increasing: Ang Bayan recorded 155 victims of abductions by the old State under the Marcos regime. 45 of them remain missing.
