[asia-apec 1333] October Peasant Campaign in the Philippines

[tpl at cheerful.com]

KMP (Peasant Movement of the Philippines)

22 October 1999

  

News Flash !!!    News Flash !!!    News Flash !!!    News Flash !!!    

  

PHILIPPINE PEASANT CAMPAIGN 

FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER:


NO TO 100% FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OF LAND!  

STRUGGLE FOR GENUINE LAND REFORM! 


TAKE AGRICULTURE OUT OF WTO!  

END IMPERIALIST GLOBALIZATION! 

<smaller>                                                            

</smaller>NO TO US-ESTRADA REGIME'S RISING TYRANNY!

<smaller>  

</smaller>

THE MONTH OF OCTOBER<bold> </bold>is a traditional peasant campaign month
in the Philippines.  Yearly, it is marked with activities featuring
peasant protest actions such as vigils, pickets, camp-outs, motorcades,
marches and rallies all over the nation.  This peasant campaign has been
going-on for 24 years, consistently spearheaded by the KMP (Peasant
Movement of the Philippines) and participated in by PAMALAKAYA (national
alliance of fisherfolk organizations). It is consistently supported by
friends and allies from other sectors who also advocate thorough-going
agrarian reform and are opposed to the rising tyranny of the Estrada
regime which has proven subservient to foreign, especially US, 
dictates.

<smaller>  

</smaller>KMP's<italic> </italic>PHILIPPINE PEASANT CAMPAIGN for 1999
carries both and links KMP's local and international campaign themes. 
One, it carries its continuing struggle for genuine land reform which is
continuously undermined by the Philippine government and the local big
landlords and agro-business corporations.


Recently, a broad coalition called "Solidarity Network in Defense of
Land" (STAND FOR LAND) was formed to register its opposition to the
current move to allow 100% foreign ownership of land under the proposed
charter change and the rising militarization in the countryside being
carried out by the Estrada regime primarily against the peasantry,
indigenous peoples and the fisherfolk.  

<bold><smaller>  

</smaller></bold>Second, the local campaigns are part of the
International Campaign Against the Agreement on Agriculture (AOA) and the
WTO being spearheaded by KMP, AMIHAN, PAMALAKAYA and GABRIELA. It is one
of the components of the continuing global People's Campaign Against
Imperialist Globalization (PCAIG) being led by BAYAN. PCAIG was launched
in 1996 with the Anti-Imperialist Peasant Summit, the People's Conference
Against Imperialist Globalization and the Anti-APEC People's Caravan to
Subic, the site of the 1996 APEC Leaders Summit.


The anti-AOA/WTO campaign's culminating activities for 1999 are the
October 20 peasant march, motorcade and vigil, the October 21
multisectoral march-rally led by the peasants and the November 28-30
Peoples' Assembly and March-Rally Against the AOA/WTO to be held in
Seattle. The campaign's call ranges from taking agriculture out of WTO to
dismantling WTO and fighting imperialist globalization.


The October campaign is also KMP's participation and support to<bold>
</bold>LA VIA CAMPESINA's<italic> </italic>ongoing international campaign
for agrarian reform. Special activities are those to be held on October
15 with the theme World Foodless Day. They are a counterpoint to the UN
observance of the World Food Day.  

  


Calendar of Activities !!!	     Calendar of Activities !!!     

<bold>  

</bold>October 12 -    Launching of the broad coalition, STAND FOR LAND
(Solidarity Network in Defense of Land), composed of church people,
health professionals, teachers & university professors, lawyers, women,
students and trade unionists.  They oppose Estrada's plan of encouraging
100% foreign ownership of land through amendments to the constitution or
charter change. 

                            

October 13 -- Fluvial parade led by PAMALAKAYA. Bancas filled with
colorful streamers and banners roamed Manila Bay near Roxas Boulevard
protesting the continuing oil price increases by giant oil cartels like
SHELL, CALTEX and PETRON. The activity was also the fisherfolk's
expression of support to the workers' just demand for higher wages, which
kicked off with tens of thousands of workers in a rally in the afternoon
of the same day.  

  

October 15 - Picket in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)
to highlight 'World Foodless Day'. Simultaneous picket-dialogue the whole
morning by the Bulacan KMP-chapter against the threat of displacement by
a subdivision developer, Sta. Lucia Realty Corp.  

  

            - A media tete-a-tete on AOA/WTO with KMP and BAYAN
chairperson Rafael Mariano as resource person. Immediately followed by
the re-launching of KONTRA KARTEL (Against Oil Cartels) to protest the
monthly price increases of oil products which clearly manifest collusion
between the Estrada government and the giants of the Philippine oil
industry -- Shell, Caltex and Petron. 

  

             - A lecture-forum sponsored by KMU in support of KMP's
Peasant Campaign, with Rafael Mariano as speaker. 

  

October 16 -  A forum sponsored by KARAPATAN (national alliance of human
rights organizations)- NCR with KMP International Affairs Officer Lu
Baylosis as resource person to discuss Philippine peasant situation.

  

            - Simultaneous protest action against fish importation in
Iloilo City with Ka Rudy Sambajon, chairperson of PAMALAKAYA, as resource
person.  

  

October 18-19 - Start of the long march/motorcade of KMP-provincial
chapters from Ilocos region north of Manila to meet with Central Luzon
farmers then proceed to the DAR to keep vigil till the 20th of October. 
A similar march of peasants from Southern Tagalog proceeded converged
with the others at the DAR.

  

October 20 - Friends and supporters form various sectors and
organizations arrived early at the DAR office to welcome the arrival of
the marchers.  A vigil-camp-out in front of the DAR office and a
solidarity program followed.  The solidarity program featured various
cultural groups, greetings and reading of solidarity messages from here
and abroad, speeches, and small group discussion within the camp-site. 
The activity linked the peasants and their supporters from the city like
the youth and students, workers and professionals. To ensure the physical
well-being of the peasant-marchers, volunteer doctors, nurses and medical
students doing community-based health programs put up a clinic at the
camp-site. Food was cooked at the compound of the United Church of Christ
of the Philippines (UCCP).   

  

October 21 - March/rally towards the presidential palace thru Menidola
bridge, the site where 13 peasants were killed and scores of marchers
where felled by bullets from automatic rifles from the military and
police in 1987. Speeches denouncing the continuing landlessness and
poverty of the peasantry, the adverse impact of globalization, the rising
militarization and human rights violations in the countryside and the
need to persevere in the struggle for genuine land reform and liberation
from local and foreign domination.  International solidarity and
cooperation among peasant movements also  highlighted. About seven
thousand peasants and their advocates joined the march-rally towards
Malacanang, the presidential palace. ###