FARMERS protesting outside the departments of Agriculture (DA) and Agrarian Reform (DAR) said the government has lost the capacity to aid farmers as a result of the funding lost to waste and corruption.
Amihan Secretary-General Cathy Estavillo, an alliance of peasant women, said in a speech to the crowd gathered outside the DA: “Alam niya (President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.) ’yung nangyayaring katiwalian dahil siya ang pumipirma sa National Expenditure Program. (The President knows about the corruption because it is his signature on the NEP).
“Ang pinakabiktima dito ang walang iba kundi ang mahihirap na sektor ng ating lipunan (The foremost victims are the poorest segments of society),” she added.
Farmers from Laguna, Bulacan, Tarlac, Rizal, Cavite, Ilocos, and Negros participated in the protests, calling attention to the low prices received by farmers for their rice harvest.
They called for the repeal of the Rice Tariffication Law, which liberalized rice imports and give traders more leverage to negotiate lower prices with farmers.
Protest organizers said they are organizing encampments outside the DAR until Oct. 21, the 53rd anniversary of President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr.’s land reform law. — Andre Christopher H. Alampay