By EUGENE ADIONG
BACOLOD City — A protest in this city marked the end of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) yesterday.
Several farmers tried to occupy the compounds of Department of Agrarian Reform (CARP) sub-offices here.
400 members of the militant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW) barged in the DAR–North compound at the downtown at about 10 a.m. but vacated the area when policemen arrived.
After which, they marched to the DAR–South compound at the Shopping area in Brgy. Villamonte.
They planned to enter and occupy the compound, too, but the security guards closed the gates before they arrived.
Frustrated, the protestors threw stones and wood at the gate. They later expressed their grievances by writing on the steel gate using spray paint.
NFSW chair Rolando Rillo believes that what they did was the most appropriate way to mark the end of CARP.
“Over the past 26 years, CARP has not served its purpose. It gave us more problems instead of alleviating our sufferings,” he said.
Rillo said their group is strongly calling for the passage of House Bill 252 or the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill.
Authored by legislators under the Makabayan coalition, the bill seeks to break landlord control and monopoly of lands through the nationalization and free distribution of lands to farmers.
“CARP was a total failure,” said Rillo. “It did not lead to any development. Most of the vast agricultural lands (in the country) were still being monopolized by rich landlords.”/PN
