The Centre for Philippine Concerns (CPC) vehemently condemns the brutal killings of nine sugar farm workers in Hacienda Nene, Sagay City, Negros Occidental. We stand in solidarity with the peasant masses and land rights defenders of Negros Island at this time of crisis.
On the night of October 20th, while having dinner inside their tents, the farmers were brutally shot to death by several gunmen. Their bodies were then doused with gasoline and set on fire.
Before the massacre, the victims were peacefully engaging in “bungkalan” activities or the preparation and cultivation of idle land where they can grow crops to ward off hunger during the "tiempo muerto" or the dead season of the sugar industry. All nine members which include 3 women and 2 minors were members of the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NSFW). The group assertively occupy idle lands as a "response to resonate their campaign for genuine agrarian reform and free land distribution”. This practice also reflects “the failure of the government's land reform program and the landlords’ refusal to distribute land to the tillers”.
Sagay City Police identified the victims as:
• Eglicerio Villegas, 36, from Barangay Bulanon
• Angelipe Arsenal, from Barangay Bulanon
• Alias Pater, from Barangay Plaridel
• Dodong Laurencio, from Barangay Plaridel
• Morena Mendoza, female, from Barangay Bulanon
• Neknek Dumaguit, female
• Bingbing Bantigue, from Barangay Plaridel
• Joemarie Ughayon Jr., 17, from Barangay Rafaela Barrera
• Marchtel Sumicad, 17, from Barangay Bulanon
This heinous act highlights the continuous injustice faced by landless farm workers in the Philippines. As long as the peasants are held chained in the exploitative semi-feudal hacienda system and the oligarchic families perpetuate their power through force, the Sagay 9 victims will not be the last farmers to shed their blood fighting for survival and genuine agrarian reform. Inequality and injustices will continue to push workers to resist and find ways to sustain themselves.
Many of our members who have visited Negros Island have witnessed first-hand the struggles of the farm workers in these sugar plantations. Earning a meager salary while working in slave-like conditions, many families in sugar plantations suffer from severe malnutrition and hunger especially during tiempo muerto. “While I was there, I was shocked to see workers out in the sugarcane fields even under scorching heat or torrential thunderstorms. Despite working from dawn to dusk, it still wasn’t enough to feed the whole family. Children are forced to stay at home and learn how to wield a cane knife early in their lives so that they can help contribute to the household income. In demonstrations, I saw young and old side by side demanding basic rights to a government who remains blind to their plight. Due to their unbearable situation, farm workers resort to conducting agrarian reform activities on their own, without the government's assistance, putting their lives at risk,” said Sheryl Anne Montano, a member of CAP-CPC who went to Negros early in 2018 for her internship on community-based health program.
Many workers have been killed asserting their rights to land they have tilled for decades. Between 2000 to 2004, under former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s government, 15 agrarian reform beneficiaries were killed and 57 wounded due to land conflicts in Negros Occidental.
The killing of the nine farmers in Sagay City brings to 45 the number of farmers and farm workers killed in Negros island under President Rodrigo Duterte’s two-year term, according to the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) and the NFSW.
We echo the call of human rights defenders in the Philippines for:
• An independent and thorough investigation by the Commission on Human Rights;
• Justice for the victims of extrajudicial killings and an end to impunity;
• Resumption of the Peace Talks between the Government of the Philippines and the
National Democratic Front of the Philippines;
• Genuine land reform and redistribution;
We further request that the Canadian Government halt funding and cooperation with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police and other organizations who have been linked to human rights violations.
Sheryl Anne Montano
