Farmers insulted on PCA chief’s statement

Friday, October 21, 2011

MEMBERS of Misamis Oriental Farmers’ Association (Mofa) said they felt insulted with the statement of Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) chief Virgilio Romanillos during a dialogue at the Provincial Capitol.

During Wednesday’s dialogue, Romanillos said “coconut is the crop of lazy farmers,” referring to coconut farmers as laidback.

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Ireneo Udarbe, chairperson of Mofa, said Romanillos’s statement is “grossly irresponsible and insensitive from a local chief of a government office.”

CAGAYAN DE ORO. Teddy Sabugaa, provincial Peace and Order Council executive director, assures farmers that the Provincial Government will attend to their problems in relation to land conflicts, land grabbing, exploitations, labor disputes, among others, during a dialogue last Wednesday.

Udarbe said the comment is a sign and symptom of a closed-minded bureaucrat who does not want to listen to the farmers’ legitimate pleas but instead point out to the farmers’ “laziness” as the root of all misery.

“There’s no point of engaging with him in a dialogue,” he said.

Udarbe said Mofa assessed the dialogue as a “mere theatrical event, giving the farmers nothing but the promise of eternal waiting.”

He even expressed disappointment on the non-appearance of the Provincial Board members who earlier promised to look into their plight.

“They promised to be present during the dialogue and to listen to our demands while facilitating us to relevant line agencies. But they did not take heed of their sweet promises,” Udarbe said.

Meanwhile, Udarbe added that members of Mofa were also disappointed with Teddy Sabugaa, executive director of the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC), after forcing the farmers to dismantle the protest camp in front of the Provincial Capitol.

“We thought he (Sabugaa) is passionate to the farmers’ concerns, but his real color came out, even accusing the farmers as ‘samukan’ (pesky) in his live radio interview today (Thursday),” said Udarbe.

“How can he help us resolve our economic problems when he is a party suppressing our fundamental freedoms such as the right to peaceful assembly?” he added

Mofa said the Kampuhan (camping) and Lakbayan are just initial steps to push for their rights in the farms.

Udarbe said they are not at the losing end as long as they can express their pleas to the government.

In an interview, Sabugaa said he will not buy the farmers’ reasoning, citing that during the dialogue, they have come up with concrete solutions to their pleas.

“We are not into ‘pogi’ points here. We look for solutions to resolve issues that have been there for the longest time,” Sabugaa said.

He said farmers who attended the dialogue must also be transparent in relaying what has been agreed to their fellow farmers and not just focus on issues that can ignite anger.

“Let us stop stabbing each other’s backs and instead work together for the betterment of the farmers,” Sabugaa said.