The National Guilder July 2014 by The National Guilder

THE NATIONAL

GUILDER

The Official Publication of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines

Renounce July 2014

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the King of Thieves

Read the statement on page 2

NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2014-2016 MARC LINO ABILA National President The LPU Independent Sentinel Lyceum of the Philippines University-Manila IAN HARVEY CLAROS Executive Vice President The Torch Publications Philippine Normal University CLAUDINE BUENAAGUA Vice President for Luzon Outcrop University of the Philippines Baguio FRANEL MAE POLIQUIT Vice President for Visayas Tug-Ani University of the Philippines Cebu ROCHAMAE BIHAG Vice President for Mindanao Mindanao Varsitarian Mindanao State University ATHENA GARDON National Secretary General The Manila Collegian University of the Philippines Manila JIAN CARLO GOMEZ National Deputy Secretary General KALasag University of the Philippines Diliman College of Arts and Letters JOHN CARLO GASIC Deputy Secretary General for Luzon The Philippine Artisan Technological University of the Philippines-Manila LESLEY CARA DELOS SANTOS Deputy Secretary General for Visayas Today’s Carolinian University of San Carlos NUR JANNAH KAALIM Deputy Secretary General for Mindanao Himati University of the Philippines Mindanao

NATIONAL SECRETARIAT CHRISTOPHER JOHN CHANCO The LaSallian, De La Salle University ANGELO KARL DOCEO The Pillar, University of Eastern Philippines MARY ROSE IGGIE ESPINOZA Arellano Standard, Arellano University ELIZABETH DANIELLE FODULLA The Manila Collegian, University of the Philippines Manila ROSE VALLE JASPE The Communicator, Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Main College of Communication MICHELLE LADO Cyber Isko, University of the Philippines Open University JOANNA MARIE UDARBE The Manila Collegian, University of the Philippines Manila

College Editors Guild of the Philippines National Office Mailing Address: Room 305, National Press Club Bldg., Magallanes Drive, Intramuros, Manila 1002 Hotline No.: (+63)936-902-6236 Email: cegphils@gmail.com Facebook Page: /CEGPNationalOffice Twitter: @CEGPNational Website: www.cegp.org

Renounce the King of Thieves The Official Statement of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines on the Impeachment of President Benigno S. Aquino III The College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), one of the convening organizations of Youth ACT Now!, supports the impeachment of Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III on the grounds of culpable violation of the constitution, betrayal of public trust, and graft and corruption brought about by the Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), and demands persecution of those involved in the pork barrel scam. As an alliance of patriotic and democratic tertiary student publications, the Guild strongly condemns Aquino, together with Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, for their improper use of public funds for political and personal gains amidst the severe poverty and chronic economic crisis experienced by the Filipino people. The Supreme Court affirms the assertion of progressive youth groups that Aquino is liable in the pork barrel issue. By declaring DAP unconstitutional, the high court confirmed that Aquino is undeniably the Pork Barrel King. Since its implementation in 2011, Aquino’s DAP totaled to a staggering sum of P142.23 billion from 2011 to 2012 alone. As Aquino’s reward, DAP funds were given to projects chosen by senators who voted for the impeachment of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona. It is clear that DAP was used for Aquino’s political and personal interests. It is high time for the campus press and the youth to act and further expose the rotten political system controlled by landlords and big compradors. It is agitating that while Filipinos continue to suffer from the lack of state funding for basic social services, government officials steal from the public coffers to fatten their pockets. The multi-billionpeso DAP would have been used to provide additional funding for our education sector, which suffered from budget cuts, as well as other basic social services. CEGP calls on the Filipino youth to engage in the issue of corruption and demand justice for the toiling masses and the people. The youth must join hands with the other sectors of the society to continue the people’s struggle for genuine social change and for a clean and honest government which shall serve the democratic interests of its citizenry.

In this issue...

News • Student alliance files complaint against CHED officials... page 4 • Southern Tagalog youth and students unite in assailing PNoy’s ‘disastrous’ term... page 4 • CEGP Metro Manila publications gear up for Aquino’s fourth SONA... page 4 Feature • 83 taong pagwagayway ng bandila... page 5 • CARP: 26 years of bogus agrarian reform... page 6

THE NATIONAL GUILDER

The Official Publication of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Marc Lino Abila

EDITORIAL CARTOONIST: Cristian Henry Diche

STAFF FOR THIS ISSUE: Liana Acuzar, Paul Carson, Gianna Francesca Catolico, Ian Harvey Claros, Jan Wilmer Gasmeña, Joanna Marie Udarbe

COVER PHOTO: John Keithley Difuntorum

GUEST EDITORS: Trina Federis, Ayen Eisma

For contributions and correspondence, you can reach us at cegp.newsdesk@gmail.com.

EDITORIAL

July 2014

Refuse to be lured and remain trapped

e were lured and trapped.

If not for the Aquino sorcery, tangled in the illusory belief that the CojuangcoAquinos bear the lineage of democracy, Benigno S. Aquino III would never win. What happened in 2010 was a mad rush to turn our backs against the much abhorred Arroyo regime. It is from this avalanche of Arroyo’s condemnation that the people opted for him – and obviously Aquino saw a lucrative avenue that will benefit his self-preserved interests. In his four years in the Malacañang, the nation’s deterioration has summed to a larger scale. It is not a surprise that “Walang pagbabago sa ilalim ni Aquino!” becomes a common clamor of the people. With this, the administration will retaliate posing its countless figures and charts of pseudoprogress. However, the Aquino camp’s negation of the call is true, there is change, a deeper introspection of this nation’s paradox would say that the Philippines has changed… for the worse. Their figures and accounts of progress have failed to tender the hungry: prices spiked unceasingly, corruption and bribery became common norms, and irregularities became regular. Thus, the Aquino camp is again feeding the nation an illusion from shattered status of the nation. However, the people are now armed with vigilance and disgust - and they have nothing to lose but the man sitting in Malacañang. Crisis has continually plagued the society. The current regime becomes an instrument to continue a rotten system based on the greed over land and foreign domination. Aquino’s programs spanned through fueling neoliberal policies that annihilate the local industry. Now, foreign banks may freely set up their branches without even minimal Filipino ownership. In the further advancement of discriminating the local industry, there have been moves to revise the 1987 Constitution. Revisions would dwell on lifting the clause that bars the foreign sectors to establish a fully owned business. It is clear that Aquino favors vicious strangers than his own people. Despite the administration’s parade of achievements, these were never real to the Filipino people, if there were any. With the prices of commodities rocketing and social services funded with meager subsistence, it is flawed to say that progress and development exist, it is bogus to claim such. The plight of the masses has never improved. In fact, it even worsened. In lieu of everything, Aquino’s response is massive privatization of public services. It is a shame that even the nation’s national roads are privately owned. It is also noteworthy that education and health appear to be more of a privilege than a right. Wages lie below the line of survival. As a response, the powers of the

government has not been directed to the vast majority of the nation and instead becomes the basis to patronize an acute portion of the populace – the ruling class. This administration has also paved the way to the escalation of human rights violations. To date, still no justice is served for the Ampatuan Massacre. This year’s campus press freedom violations have reached an additional 185 cases to the existing unsolved cases. It is noticeable that the stretch of these crimes is directed to the pacification of militant and progressive movements. The country has also been plunged to a treaty which legalizes, systematizes and permits outright subservience to the American dictate – the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). It opens the country to their military disposal. They are introduced free and unlimited to the access of our radio waves. Worse, the Philippine government shall pay for the expenses they incur throughout

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their stay. This is ample proof that the Philippine puppetry has never ended its show, the US is not interested in ending it. Aquino has also utilized the coffers of the nation into a systematic corruption and bribery. The unconstitutional Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), which proved to create a bogus growth, was funneled to ensure loyalty of his allies instead of funding the rehabilitation of Yolanda victims. He has only mechanized a quagmire of decadence. Ergo, the Aquino regime contains a status quo that breeds social injustice and bourgeois chauvinism. We were lured and trapped by the continuous illusions that the present system offers, even more fueled by a corrupt administration. However, the Filipino people refuse to be lured and remain trapped. With this in mind, it is essential to make the first step towards a more progressive society, and that is to unseat a corrupt leadership.

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NEWS

July 2014

Student alliance files complaint against CHED officials National News Bureau The Rise for Education Alliance (R4E), along with various youth groups, filed charges before the Office of the Ombudsman on June 13 against high-ranking officials of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for their failure to regulate and control tuition and other school fees in tertiary education. R4E filed the case due to CHED’s approval of 287 out of 345 applications for increasing the tuition and other fees made by private higher

educational institutions for academic year 2014-2015 despite protests of students against such increases and the agency’s inaction to the complaints filed by students against impending tuition and other fees increases. In the 59-page joint complaint-affidavit filed, charges include gross incompetence, gross inefficiency, and gross neglect of duty of officials of CHED including CHED Chairperson Patricia Licuanan; CHED Commissioners Maria Cynthia Rose Bautista, Minella Alarcon, Alex Brilliantes Jr., and

Ruperto Sanggalang; CHED Executive Director Julito Vitriolo; CHED Regional Director for National Capital Region (NCR) Leonida Calagui; and former CHED Regional Director for NCR Catherine Castañeda. Petitioners include Sarah Jane Elago of the National Union of Students of the Philippines, Marc Lino Abila of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines, Vencer Mari Crisostomo of Anakbayan, Charlotte Velasco of the League of Filipino Students, James Bryan Deang, and Vincent Sudaria.

CEGP Metro Manila publications gear up for Aquino’s fifth SONA Metro Manila News Bureau

Progressive and militant groups marched from Liwasang Bonifacio to Mendiola in an Independence Day rally carrying the demand for accountability from those who are involved in the pork barrel scam including Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III and his close political allies. Photo courtesy of Tudla Productions.

Southern Tagalog youth and students unite in assailing PNoy’s ‘disastrous’ term Southern Tagalog News Bureau On June 14, hundreds of youth and students trooped to the halls of the University of the Philippines Los Baños in Laguna for the Hulagpos Regional Youth Summit. Aside from the caucuses, discussions, and resolutionbuilding sessions, cultural performances are also one of the highlights of the event. This signified the melding of local culture with the daily lives of the youth. The most anticipated part of the program, however, is plate-smashing. Popularly known as “taksyapo” wall, it is a symbolism of breaking the chains of state neglect and impunity – which was Hulagpos’ central theme. Paul Carson, event coordinator for Hulagpos Regional Youth Summit, emphasized the youth’s daily struggle inside and outside of schools, as out-of-school youth are either entering the large ‘casinos’ that is the cities – or the countryside, aiding their already-impoverished families in farming and fishing to make ends meet. According to Kabataan Partylist, the youth’s

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representative in Congress, more than 300 universities and colleges and 1,299 elementary and high school campuses will increase tuition this year. The primary and secondary levels are reported to be still unready for the K to 12 program, with insufficient number of modules, classrooms, and teachers. “Everyday, the youth is playing Russian roulette, with unsure sources of income to aid their already-toiling families. Meanwhile, Aquino is busy sipping the ‘money shake’ he desperately juiced from the people’s coffers and defends his allies caught sipping from it, and has engaged in a war of words with the people,” Carson said. “We will smash, literally and figuratively, these policies that have chained the youth for so long. Meanwhile, public outrage has increased over the series of scams and scandals that have rocked the Aquino administration, proving the inability of his administration to bring forth genuine change. This is the deciding factor for the people to personally take the responsibility to deliver what this administration promised but never delivered,” Carson concluded.

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Campus journalists from different student publications in Metro Manila attended the first general assembly of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP)-Metro Manila Chapter to forge unity between publications on June 28 for the Guild’s campaigns and Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III’s upcoming fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) this July 28. Campus journalists gathered in the Kamao Hall of Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST) in Manila and discussed the current issues of the Philippine society such as the education crisis, pork barrel, corruption, and other matters of national importance. CEGP National Secretary General Athena Gardon discussed the national situation and CEGP-Metro Manila Chairperson Charina Claustro led the planning of activities for the Campus Press Freedom Week on July 2126 and build up activities for SONA such as forums, educational discussions, alternative classroom learning experience, and actions. “We arranged activities such as forums on State of the Media, Charter Change, and State of the Youth Address, as well as discussion groups, study circles, and alternative classroom learning experience to inform and educate students from our respective universities on the current situation of the country in line with Pres. Aquino’s fifth SONA on July,” said Claustro. The general assembly was attended by EARIST Technozette of EARIST, The Torch Publications of Philippine Normal University, The Guidon and Matanglawin of Ateneo de Manila University, The Manila Collegian of University of the Philippines Manila, The Weekly Dawn of University of the East, Ang Pahayagang Plaridel of De La Salle University, The Communicator of Polytechnic University of the Philippines-College of Communication, The Chronicler of Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Taguig, and The Philippine Artisan of Technological University of the Philippines-Manila.

CEGP File Photo

July 2014

LATHALAIN

83 taong pagwagayway ng bandila

Pagtalakay sa tindig ng CEGP hinggil sa depektibong CJA at represyon sa mga kampus Gianna Francesca Catolico Ang Pahayagang Plaridel, De La Salle University-Manila Sa patuloy na pagtiktak ng orasan at pagtapak ng mag-aaral sa bawat yugto ng kanilang buhay-kolehiyo, esensyal ang pagkakaroon ng substansyal at kapakipakinabang na kaalaman ukol sa lipunang kanilang kinagagalawan. Upang mahulma ang kaisipan at kamalayan ng bawat Pilipinong estudyante, nariyan ang bawat pahayagan ng pamantasan na magpapatupad sa layuning ito. Kung susumahin, ilang dekadang burado sa bokabularyo at nakabaon sa limot ang salitang campus press freedom. Ito kasi ang bangungot ng bawat abusado’t tiwaling administrasyon ng pamantasan at kolehiyo sa Pilipinas. Malaki ang papel na ginagampanan ng pahayagan sa pagpapakalat at pagsisiwalat ng masaklap na katotohanan sa isang kampus na pinaghaharian ng samu’t saring suliranin at nakakakilabot na pangyayari. Bunsod ng kaisipang ito, nilulustay ng mapanupil na administrasyon ang kanilang kapangyarihan, makagapos at makandado lang ang pahayagang pankampus ng kanilang pinapatakbong unibersidad o kolehiyo. Hudyat ng matinding pangangalbaryo ng bawat mamamahayag pankampus Isa sa tinaguriang panday ng sunudsunod na kaso ng panunupil sa pahayagang pankampus ang Republic Act 7079 o Campus Journalism Act of 1991 na pinagtibay noong Hulyo 5, 1991. Nilikha ni dating Senador Wigberto Tañada ang naturang batas upang pahusayin at paunlarin ang kalidad ng mga pahayagang pangkampus sa buong kapuluan kasabay ng pagbabantay sa mga demokratikong karapatan ng mga mamamahayag pangkampus. Pagkalipas ng isang taon, inilabas naman ang Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) na binalangkas ng dating Kalihim ng Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (dating pangalan ng Department of Education) na si Armand V. Fabella.

Sa kabila ng mabuting adhikain ng batas, nananatiling isang papel ng pangarap ang CJA sapagkat patuloy ang paghahasik ng mga administrasyon laban sa mga matatapang at magigiting na mamamahayag pangkampus. Pagkatapos mailabas ang IRR, naglabas ng memorandum ang Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU) na pinangunguluhan noon ni Amado Dizon na Presidente ng Manuel L. Quezon University. Naglalaman ito ng babala na parurusahan ang sinumang patuloy na mangongolekta ng publication fee dahil ang RA 7079 ay hindi umanong nagbibigay na ng “pagsasarili” ng mga pahayagan mula sa kontrol ng mga administrasyon. Simula noon, hindi makatuwiran ang iba’t ibang mukha ng pang-aapi sa mga pahayagang pankampus. Nariyan ang wala o hindi sapat na pagbibigay ng pondo para sa paglimbag ng dyaryo, paniningil ng kaliwa’t kanang bayarin, at pakikipagsabwatan ng administrasyon sa tagapagpayo ng pahayagan. Maaaring sabihin na isa ring uri ng manipestasyon ng represyon ang pag-alis sa pahayagan at pamantasan ng mga mag-aaral na manunulat ng pahayagan. Kahit na may batas na tinitingalang sandigan ng pamamahayag sa loob ng pamantasan at kolehiyo, walang naghihintay na parusa sa mga administrasyong walang habas na bumabali rito. Paghahagupit sa mga mamamahayag pankampus, bunga ng bunging CJA Hangga’t nariyan ang mala-impiyernong batas, hindi mananahimik at mabubusalan ang College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) upang ipaglaban ang demokratikong karapatan ng bawat mamamahayag pankampus. Sa kasalukuyan, 185 na kaso ng panunupil ang hawak ng CEGP sa 54 na unibersidad at kolehiyo sa buong Pilipinas. Ilan sa mga kasong tinutugunan dito ang represyon sa Outcrop ng University of the Philippines Baguio (UP Baguio), The National ng National University (NU), The Monthly Quest ng Quezon City Polytechnic University (QCPU), at EARIST Technozette ng Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and

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Technology (EARIST). Ang kasong libelo na isinampa sa dating punong patnugot ng Outcrop na si Jesusa Paquibot na patuloy na dinidinig at sinusuportahan ng CEGP ay isang malinaw na manipestasyon ng pilit na pambubusal sa naturang pahayagan. Naging matunog din sa balita kamakailan ang bantang pagpapatalsik noon sa 35 na mag-aaaral ng EARIST kabilang na ang punong patnugot ng EARIST Technozette na si Hannah Pelayo at pagdadamot sa pondo na ilalaan sana sa paglilimbag ng Technozette. Isa rin sa mga kampanya ng CEGP ay ang muling pagbubukas ng The Monthly Quest ng QCPU na ipinasara ng kanilang administrasyon noong 2012. CJA ng 1991, karapat-dapat na itakwil at ibasura Napatunayan na kahit na lagpas walumpung taon ang alyansa, hindi napapagod at nalulumbay ang CEGP sa pagsusulong ng mga reporma at proyektong higit na importante para sa milyun-milyong Pilipinong mag-aaral. Isa sa nangungunang plataporma ng CEGP ang pagbabasura ng CJA na sadyang pasan sa krus para sa maraming mamamahayag pankampus. Ngayon na nailahad ang reyalidad sa pag-agos ng pamamahayag sa loob ng kampus, maaaring igiit na walang silbi at taliwas sa hangarin ang CJA. Sa huli, ang agarang pagpapasa ng Campus Press Freedom (CPF) Bill at ang pagbabasura sa hungkag na CJA ang kasagutan sa pagwawakas ng karahasan at panggigipit ng administrasyon ng mga kampus na nakakaranas ng represyon. Ang pagwasiwas ng CJA ang ginagamit ng mga administrasyon ng bawat kampus upang kitlin ang demokratikong karapatan ng bawat estudyanteng Pilipino. Maaaring tutulan ang ganitong pang-aapi kung matitimo at maitatatak sa kaisipan ng mag-aaral na ang kolektibong pagkilos at pag-aklas lamang ang masasandalan at maaasahan. Napatunayan ng CEGP na hindi hadlang ang katandaan upang kumilos sa pagkamit ng minimithing kalayaan at karapatan sa pamamahayag sa loob at labas ng kampus.

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FEATURE

June 2014

CARP: 26 years of bogus agrarian reform Liana Acuzar The Louisian Courier, University of Saint Louis-Tuguegarao My first drawings as a kid mostly depict vast and lush farmlands with the farmer happily taking a rest under a tree shade, looking contented and pleased at a hard day’s work. Through the years, I had kept this mental picture in the recesses of my mind, undisturbed and nearly forgotten. But my involvement in activism made me remember how I pictured our poor peasants before. When I began to join rallies, I saw throngs of them, shouting for true agrarian reform and throwing their fists in the air. It somehow looked bizarre, so much different from the picture that I used to believe about them. This is when I began to discover that there is more to their real situation than what I knew.

Photo courtesy of Tudla Productions.

The Game of Land Monopoly It is under false knowledge when one says that the times have changed – that the era of slavery, exploitation and repression has already passed. The toiling masses, the ones who make our clothes and plant rice, still suffer from the shackles of oppression that we thought have ended after hundreds of years of colonization. The monopoly of lands that can be traced even during the times of Spanish colonialism exists until today. The Hacienda system, for one, used by Spanish friars and the local ruling class to own huge portions of lands in order to control the production and collection of tributes is still being used by their today’s equivalent – the big landlords and the bureaucrat capitalists. Until today, 7 out of 10 farmers do not have their own land to till. While thousands of hectares are owned and profited from by the ruling and elite few, our peasants have to make out of unfair policies in wages, working conditions and sharing of harvests. Bogus Agrarian Reform In 1988, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) was enacted with the aim to push for agrarian reform by distributing land to the landless Filipino farmers. However, it turned out that in its 26 years of enactment, it only gave license to the landlords to grab and own concentrated areas of land. When the poor farmers tagged CARP as ‘pro-landlord,’ they did not declare this without basis. CARP allows land use conversion from agricultural to commercial use in order to evade the inclusion of large portions of land for distribution. It also has Stock Distribution Option (SDO) that gives stocks instead of physical distribution of lands to farmers or farm worker beneficiaries. Under CARP, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) distributes lands with the condition that the farmer beneficiaries must pay monthly amortization for 30 years in order to legitimately own the land. Just like in the 6,000-hectare Hacienda Luisita, owned by the Cojuangco-Aquino clan, the awarding of Certificate of Land Ownership and Acquisition (CLOA) does not automatically mean full ownership. CARP allows different schemes to maintain land monopoly like leaseback, joint venture, corporative scheme, lease, and farm management contract. The lives of farmers and farm workers cannot be genuinely improved under CARP. In Hacienda Luisita alone, the farm workers are only allowed to work one to two times a week. Furthermore, not all landless farmers are subject for distribution because CARP requires rigid screening of its beneficiaries. This clearly shows that it does not give value to the decades of unpaid hard work of farmers in cultivating lands and creating the wealth that is enjoyed by only a few. DAR and Department of Environment and Natural Resources boast

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that they have already distributed around 4.6 million hectares and 3.8 million hectares respectively to 5 million beneficiaries. However, according to Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, 60 % of ‘distributed’ lands to beneficiaries are already being re-concentrated because of CARP, thus retaining the fact that many farmers are still landless and in huge debt with landlords. The Bloody Trail The persisting monopoly of the few and its attendant landlessness for the majority can be reflected at the existing political structure of our society. As long as the landlords and bureaucrat capitalists take hold of the political power, the policies and laws that it creates will always be according to their interests and favor. CARP was enacted during the administration of Cory Aquino who came from the clan that owns Hacienda Luisita. It is also during her administration that thousands of farmers demanding true agrarian reform marched to Mendiola in Manila to air their grievances but were met with state violence as 13 of them were killed and many others were left wounded. This was then known in history as the Mendiola Massacre. On November 16, 2004, seven were also killed at Hacienda Luisita when hundreds of farmers and farm workers formed a picket line and held a strike against their P9.50 weekly wage. Until now, many leader-peasants are being killed, tortured and harassed in the name of maintaining the status quo – the monopoly of land. History can attest that whenever the toiling masses gather their force to show to the powers-that-be that they are the important forces of production, the ruling class always uses all of its available apparatus – from laws and policies to brute force – to suppress the people’s struggle. People’s fight for genuine agrarian reform As CARP neared its expiration last June 30, some members of Congress filed a bill for another two-year extension of the law. For the peasants, this does not give them the hope that agrarian reform will finally be achieved. That is why thousands of peasants from different provinces marched to Manila and camped out at DAR to call for the scrapping of CARP and the enactment of Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB) or House Bill 375. GARB was authored by Anakpawis Partylist and aims to “break up the monopoly of a few landowners and foreign control of our lands” and “to implement genuine agrarian reform in order to finally end the feudal and semi-feudal exploitation of our farmers.” Unlike CARP that makes distribution of land a business, GARB promotes free land distribution to all landless farmers. According to Anakpawis Partylist, it also aims to improve the living standards of its farmer beneficiaries by improving the post-harvest, market access and market price guarantees and such other services necessary to making their production viable and increase their income. Moreover, it upholds the principle that ending the monopoly of lands will help prepare the conditions for national industrialization and for an economy that is self-sustaining and self-determining. *** Knowing the resolute spirit of the peasants to end the hundreds of years of exploitation, I know that one day, I won’t have to revisit the mental picture of the happy farmer anymore to see a farmer smile and be contented over the victory of their struggle. Despite the difficulties, the peasants do not see this fight as a hopeless cause. They believe that it is only through collective action of the Filipino people that genuine social change can be achieved, and that we, the youth, have a great role to play in this historical and noble struggle.

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July 2014

FEATURE

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