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Friday, May 19, 2006
We're not keeping ‘goons’, doc says
"WE CANNOT even afford to hire security guards, how much more goons?"
This was the reaction of Ruditha Gustilo on the allegation of the Task Force Mapalad (TFM) that her family is hiring goons to guard their property.
Ruditha is the wife of Farley Gustilo, administrator of Hacienda Cambuktot in Barangay Mansalanao, La Castellana town.
In a press conference held at the Business Inn in Bacolod City Thursday afternoon, Gustilo said, "I, myself, was also saddened by what had happened in our farm. The death of Mario Domingo was really beyond our control."
Domingo died last May 15 after an encounter with the alleged goons of the Gustilo family.
She said all that her family wanted was peace. In fact, she said they have been asking and begging the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the police to help them contain the tension in their hacienda while there's a pending protest on the inclusion and exclusion of farmer-beneficiaries.
"Ever since, I've already told the police, especially the Regional Mobile Group (RMG), that the situation in our hacienda is just like a time bomb that will explode anytime," she said.
Domingo's death is just a sample of the things to come, she said.
Although she said she is not blaming the delayed action of the PNP in addressing their complaint, Gustilo said Domingo's death could have been prevented if the PNP or the RMG did their share before the problem worsened.
"For our part, we made several attempts in writing a letter to Senior Supt. Charles Calima Jr., director of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Noppo), and Superintendent Rene Aspera, director of the 6th RMG, informing them about the tension in our hacienda," she said.
Meanwhile, Gustilo also protested against the action of Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer (Paro) II Felicidad Bañares, Paro 1 Manuel Velasco and Municipal Agrarian Reform Officer (Maro) Nelda Salmorin in granting an additional 50-hectare lot to the 17.03 hectares previously granted by DAR to TFM farmer-beneficiaries in the hacienda last February 1.
The move, she said disregarded the contractual obligations and is a gross violation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MUO) that both the TFM under the Cambuktot Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association (Carba) and their family signed on July 26, 2005.
Under Section 8 of the said MOU, it states that "Both parties agree to cooperate with each other in the successful implementation of Carp in aforesaid hacienda. No harassment or untoward incident will be caused by either party on each other or cause damage to the crops cultivated by each party."
"The First Party (Gustilos) will not interfere in the cultivation of the areas agreed upon in Paragraph 1 and the Second Party (the TFM members) agrees not to construct permanent structures, sub-lease or expand the areas in their possession or cultivation unless authorized by DAR. Both parties at all time will maintain peaceful and economic productivity and co-existence in aforesaid hacienda Cambuktot," the MOU also read.
And, in Section 11, it was also stated that the said MOU shall be deemed terminated upon issuance of the Memorandum Valuation by Land Bank of the Philippines over the affected parcels of land.
Upon termination of this agreement, DAR will initiate the turnover of the affected parcels of land to the farmer-beneficiaries in accordance to existing agrarian laws, guidelines, rules and regulations.
Gustilo, in the same press conference, reiterated that her family is not against Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp).
"In fact, we want to be out now of our hacienda. But because Land Bank hasn't paid us yet, we therefore have no choice but to continue claiming our property. And, besides, we also see that some of the 78 agrarian reform beneficiaries in our hacienda are not our legitimate farm workers," she said.
As to the ongoing investigation on the death of Domingo, Gustilo said, "I just hope for a fair and square investigation."
Calima has already instructed La Castellana Municipal Police Chief Placido Composa to exhaust all means in investigating the case. (EASD)
(May 19, 2006 issue)
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