Terror Won't Silence Us

By Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP)


At first this woman couldn’t believe that she will be part of the chosen one who had decided to live and fight for the peasants, her family origin. Like many activists she can not ignore the harsh reality that the rich are getting richer while the poor are sinking deeper into poverty-- and this condition has pushed her to do her part and join others do a historic mission that only a few have chosen.

Imelda Lacandazo, 41, came from a peasant family. She was a student activist in mid ‘80s at Baguio College Foundation (now the University of Cordillera). As a student activist they have regular discussions, political education and most of all, they practiced what most activists looked for “living with the masses”. She fell in love with a fellow activist, got pregnant in 1986 and married in 1987. As both fulltime activists having a child and a family is such a difficult situation. They have measly income and saw her daughter missed a meal due to lack of money. As a mother, it was very painful to see your child crying due to hunger. And even if it’s against her will she decided to work abroad in 1989 hoping that she can save for the future of her daughter and family. She left her three-year old daughter to her in-laws. Her husband continued his work as fulltime peasant organizer in Southern Tagalog.

Remolded leader
Life as an overseas Filipino worker (OWF) is quite hard. For 6 years it tortured her situation of living away from your loving family while working in a foreign land for an income that she thinks would save her family from poverty. She was able to build a house and had saved from her earnings until in 1995 she decided to quit her job. In 1996 she gave birth to a son. And live as fulltime mother – staying at home and taking care of her beloved children. Having a husband who is a fulltime peasant organizer makes her proud even if they seldom see each other.

Then one day, she got organized again under the Kababaihang Naglilingkod sa Nayon-Mindoro Occidental (KANAYON-MO). In 1999, she joined the peasant campaign that leads to the successful struggle of farmers in Golden Country Farms Inc. (GCFI) against former Mindoro Occidental Congressman Ricardo Quintos. From then on the military began harassing her and her children.

She decided to continue what she had started when she was a student activist. Little by little she started to educate even her children. During vacation, she let her children joined the rallies with her. Her children grew up with a strong foundation of becoming an activist like their parents. Her daughter became a youth leader of Anakbayan and her son, became a member of ‘children’s cultural group’ called Bagsik in Southern Tagalog. We call that a ‘militant’ family where the father, mother and children are all activists.

She fully developed as a very good peasant women leader. She continue remolding herself with the guidance of her group. She was elected as the General Secretary of the SUMAMAKA-TK. In 2003, as a regional peasant women leader, she took a great responsibility in peasant women organizing. “Most of the time I am in the peasant community doing my work – attending meetings, educating and organizing the peasants, links with friendly local government officials, lobbying with legislators, represent KMP in regional activities and even in selected international conferences – I am always away from my children. But I am sure that they understood me. That I am doing these not for their own future alone but for the welfare of the oppressed Filipino peasants”, said Ka Imelda. This year also, they were forced to vacate their house because the military is harassing her children and threatening them.

In 2004, she was chosen as the coordinator of the Pagkakaisa’t Lakas ng Magsasaka sa Palayan ng Timog Katagalugan (PALAY TK) that led the campaign to increase the palay price amounting to P15.00 per kilo in Southern Tagalog. And this was adopted as a national campaign of KMP. The surveillance and death threats against her heightened unsurprisingly. There was also an incident when a group of Philippine Army threw a grenade where her children stayed. Luckily, it didn’t blow up. She decided to stop her children from schooling and leave the province. She also survived a murder attempt during the orchestrated hold-up in Mindoro Occidental led by 16th and 18th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.

Finally in 1999, she became a member of the KMP National Council in its 5th National Congress and was elected as National Vice-chairperson. In 2004, she was reelected in the same position during the KMPs 6th National Congress and presently continued the post. The KMP is a democratic and militant movement of landless peasants founded in July 1985. It has effective leadership of more than 2 million rural people with 65 provincial and 15 regional chapters nationwide. The KMP stands against worsening feudal and semi-feudal exploitation by big landlords and foreign monopoly capitalists in the country. It aims to uplift the plight of millions of Filipino farmers that are currently slaves to high land rent, usury, high production costs, low prices for their produce, and starvation wages for agricultural workers It fights for genuine agrarian reform and is now campaigning for the passage of the ‘Genuine Agrarian Reform Act’ or House Bill 3059 at the House of Representatives.

‘All-out War’
The state terror began in 2002 when the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo started Oplan Bantay Laya II (OBL II) or ‘Operation Freedom Watch’, a five-year counter insurgency plan to annihilate the Communist Party of the Philippines- New People’s Army (CPP-NPA). The CPP-NPA has been waging a Maoist-inspired protracted people’s war in the country for more than three decades. The NPA claims to be active in more than 128 guerilla fronts nationwide.

Just like other counterinsurgency programs of the past regimes the OBL II resulted in numerous human rights violations (HRVs) by essentially not distinguishing between combatants and civilians or between legal and underground organizations. General Jovito Palparan’s stint in Southern Tagalog brought rampant political killings, abductions and harassment against progressive organizations. Again, Ka Imelda moved her children in much safer place to avoid the military’s harassment. And even if it’s against her will, she can’t visit them regularly because she received continuing death threats from the military that are desperate to silence her.

In June 16, 2006, President Arroyo allotted an additional Php1 billion ($18.78) million, based on an exchange rate of P53.26 per US dollar) to augment the AFP’s counter-insurgency drive. The Arroyo regime declared a virtual “all-out war” against the communist movement that she ordered annihilated within two years. Yet, the first casualty of the government’s all-out war was not an armed rebel. Gunned down by motorcycle-riding men the next day, June 17, was Tito Marata, public information officer of KMP in the province of Misamis Oriental. And the political killings, persecution and harassments against the peasants who feed the nation continue.

“The harassment and ‘death threats’ I am experiencing is a result of the OBL II and nothing else. Being a peasant leader, I am being targeted by the military as they did so to other leaders or members of progressive organizations, especially peasant organizations that are fighting for genuine agrarian reform, democracy and social justice. Hence, the military are trying to cover up their crimes by linking the peasant leaders and organizers to the CPP and NPA.” added Ka Imelda.

Unwavering commitment
Unfortunately, the Philippines can be considered as Asia’s killing fields in the light of 891 extra-judicial killings and 171 enforced disappearances (as of February 2008) under the 7-year old Macapagal-Arroyo regime as documented by the human rights group Karapatan or Alliance for the Advancement of Human Rights. Peasant leaders and organizers who have led struggles against land-grabbing, high rent, low wages, usury, high production costs, agrochemical use, and destructive mining and dam projects, have been the victims of assassinations, massacres, torture, arbitrary arrest and illegal detention, and other forms of harassment by military-death squad perpetrators.

Despite this very difficult situation, she continued to organize the peasants in Southern Tagalog and KMP did so nationwide. She was assigned from one province to another province to avoid the military’s ‘death squad’. And through painstaking work they were able to develop new peasant leaders and organizers. But there are ups and downs in doing her work. In 2002, she separated from her husband for reasons she did not want to talk about. She said the separation hurt her so much yet she persistently did her work with her children as her inspiration and she get strengths from the peasant masses she is serving for. Life still goes on with her unwavering commitment.

“The social conflicts in the countryside are rooted in landlessness, joblessness, poverty and hunger. This repression and human right violations by the military are only aggravating the poor situation of the peasants and delaying the resolution of their problems. If extra-judicial killings had meant to silence the Filipino peasantry’s persistent clamor for change, it has achieved just the opposite.” Ka Imelda stressed.

Farmers led by KMP come together in their localities or in Metro Manila for mass actions that demand an end to political killings, together with other persecuted sectors of society. KMP and relatives of peasant victims of extra-judicial killings filed an impeachment complaint against President Arroyo (although the said complaint has been recently junked in Congress). KMP also filed a complaint at the United Nations Human Rights Commission against Arroyo regimes human rights violations in 2006 and 2007. In many ways, the peasant movement is very active in all efforts to make the Arroyo government answerable for all its crimes against the people.

“We also take time to grieve for our fallen leaders—now martyrs-- with great sorrow, love, and respect. The loss of our leaders has a huge effect in our work. Our leaders arose from commitment and experience. We cannot bring back a life that has been taken away. And yet Filipino farmers were trained as cause-oriented and are not leader-oriented. Even if their leader has been killed they will onward with the struggle. Terror won’t silence us.” ended Ka Imelda.




References
1. Interview with Imelda Lacandazo (2008), hand notes.
2. KMP Press releases (2006, 2007, and 2008).
3. Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (2006) “Primer on Political killings.” http://www.bayan.ph/downloads/primer%20on%20political%20killings.pdf
4. Bordadora, Norman (2006) “Govt must answer for all killings—CHR.” INQ7.net, May 23, http://news.inq7net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=76670.
5. Eastman-Abaya, R. and Petra, J. (2006) “Philippines: The Killing Fields of Asia.” Counterpunch, March 17, http://www.counterpunch.org/petras03172006.html.
6. Guda, Kenneth Roland A. (2006) “Oplan Bantay Laya: Programa Kontra-Insurhensiya, Aktibista ang Puntirya.” Pinoy Weekly, March 25, http://www.pinoyweekly.org/pw5-20/feats/sb_1.htm.
7. Karapatan National (2007). “Human Rights Report.”.
8. Quijano, Ilang-ilang (2006) “Terrorizing the Struggle for Food Sovereignty”