ILOILO City — Generations of farmers in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo remain landless despite decades of cultivating a disputed 120-hectare agricultural property, mirroring what agrarian reform advocates described as the government’s persistent failure to deliver land ownership and security to rural communities.
The unresolved land dispute, involving a 120-hectare tract carved from a larger 500-hectare property, emerged as a major concern during a multisectoral forum organized by Paghugpong sang mga Mangunguma sa Panay kag Guimaras (PAMANGGAS) and the Church-Peasant Solidarity Network at the Sta. Teresa Prayer Center in Jaro district.
“The native farmers have been calling for land since the time of President Diosdado Macapagal, and until now, they have received nothing,” said PAMANGGAS chairperson Lucia Capaducio.
“To this day, there is still no land security for the farmers here on Panay Island, particularly in Sta. Barbara,” she added.
Capaducio criticized longstanding weaknesses in the country’s agrarian reform policies, tracing the problem to the Tenant Emancipation Decree under former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
She argued that loopholes in land distribution policies have allowed agricultural workers to remain without ownership rights despite generations of cultivation.
Beyond landlessness, advocates raised concerns over declining farmgate palay prices, which they blamed on the Rice Tariffication Law and market deregulation.
They urged the government to redirect resources toward sustainable agriculture and called for the passage of House Bill No. 405, or the Rice Industry Development Act, to protect farmers’ livelihoods and strengthen food security.
The forum also highlighted alleged harassment and red-tagging of agricultural workers and rural organizers.
Lawyer Geobelyn Lopez, executive director of Centro Para Sa Tunay Na Repormang Agraryo (CENTRA), warned that branding farmers and land rights advocates as communist sympathizers could expose them to serious security risks.
“Sometimes our farmers are red-tagged as communist sympathizers or taking orders from communists. Hopefully, those baseless accusations do not make it into official reports,” Lopez said.
Participants also discussed threats to rural livelihoods arising from climate-related disasters, including severe El Niño conditions, as well as concerns surrounding the Pax Silica initiative.
The gathering brought together representatives from Kabataan Partylist-Panay, Abante Babae, transport group PISTON, and farmers from various municipalities.
Following the forum, participants marched to Jaro Plaza for a picket rally, pressing the government to address unresolved land disputes, protect agricultural workers from alleged harassment, and pursue reforms that would improve farmers’ economic security.
The groups maintained that meaningful agrarian reform must go beyond government promises and translate into actual land distribution, stronger legal protection, and sustainable livelihoods for farming communities./PN
