Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) writes to inform you about the harassment of Shirley Lape, farmer beneficiary under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and member of Samahan ng Magsasaka sa Barangay Tala at Camflora in Sitio Cabulihan, Barangay Tala, San Andres, Quezon.
Thursday, 15 October 2015 15:55
URGENT APPEAL
October 12, 2015
(PHILIPPINES) The harassment of Shirley Lape, farmer beneficiary under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and member of Samahan ng Magsasaka sa Barangay Tala at Camflora in Sitio Cabulihan, Barangay Tala, San Andres, Quezon
ISSUES: Right not to be deprived of means of subsistence; Land Rights; Access to Justice
Dear friends,
Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) writes to inform you about the harassment of Shirley Lape, farmer beneficiary under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and member of Samahan ng Magsasaka sa Barangay Tala at Camflora in Sitio Cabulihan, Barangay Tala, San Andres, Quezon.
CASE DETAILS:
On August 13, 2015, Shirley Lape, an agrarian reform beneficiary, active member and farmer – leader of Samahan ng Magsasaka sa Barangay Tala at Camflora, and resident of Sitio Cabulihan, Barangay Tala, San Andres, Quezon, was preparing breakfast when Edwin Ausa arrived. Ausa claims that he is the owner of the land that Lape grows and harvests copra from.
Ausa shouted at Lape and asked her why she is not giving him a portion of her income. Lape asked him why she needed to give him a portion of her income when the land is considered as timberland. Ausa asserted that he owns the land, but Lape countered him. Ausa then threatened her and said that she might suffer the same fate as Elisa Tulid’s if she refused to pay him. Ausa even added that if Lape did not do what was asked of her, Ausa himself would take away their share of coconuts.
On 1999, Lape filed for possession of land in DENR, until the present, Lape and other farmers are still fighting for their claim.
Sometime on October 2013, a week after the killing of Elisa Tulid, Lape with Nelson Fuentes and a certain Severino was also allegedly harassed and threatened by the same Edwin Ausa.
Ausa’s alleged threat was in relation to the killing of Elisa Tulid on October 19, 2013 that was the result of an ongoing land dispute in the said area. Like Lape, Tulid was an active member of Samahan ng Magsasaka sa Barangay Tala at Camflora, and was one of those who actively spoke in defense of the residents’ and farmers’ claim to the land. She was shot multiple times and killed on the spot in front of her husband and then four year old daughter.
There is a persistent agrarian conflict in Bondoc Peninsula where San Andres, Quezon is located, where almost 80 percent of households depend on subsistence farming mainly banana and coconut mono cropping as well as fishing.
Domingo Reyes, one of the main landholders in Bondoc Peninsula currently owns 12,000-16,000 hectares of land in three municipalities. Farmers have been in a 60-40 contract with the Reyes, with 60% of total harvest going to Reyes, while the 40% goes to the tenants, who also have to cover the production expenses.
In 2004, farmers and tenants finally petitioned the government for coverage under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). The farmers working on Reyes’ lands started boycotting the 60-40 agreement share after they learned from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) that portion of the lands claimed by Reyes are declared public and certified timberland.
It has been alleged by some testimonies that Edwin Ausa and Rannie Bugnot are supporters of Reyes’ clan and have been trying to instill fear in the communities to prevent them from claiming their land rights.
Source : www.tfdp.net
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