Saturday, July 21, 2007 Task Force Mapalad slammed anew By Antonieta B. Lopez
THE United Municipal Agrarian Reform Officers Association of Negros Occidental (Umano), Inc. on Thursday slammed anew Task Force Mapalad (TFM), which labeled the municipal agrarian reform officers (Maros) as “pro-landowner.”
In a statement, Umano said it is a strategy of TFM to consistently push lies to make it appear as truth.
It also stressed that landowners are important in the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp). “Without the landowners’ landholdings all we have is the Handog Titulo Program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR),” the statement said.
The agrarian reform officers claimed that after being silent for so long, the time has come for them to break the silence.
The statement, which was signed by Umano president Victor Montalvo, was furnished to media Thursday.
The group first came out with a statement bashing the farmers’ organization after the untimely relief of former provincial agrarian reform officer Stephen Leonidas, which, they claimed, was not a decision of Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman but a maneuver instigated by TFM.
Umano said the Carp implementation in the province was relatively peaceful until the entry of TFM that started an “era of agrarian violence.”
They noted that deaths involving TFM members are always highlighted in the media despite the fact that most of these incidents are not agrarian-related.
They referred to as a “well-orchestrated” the June 4 incident in Hacienda Velez Malaga which resulted in the deaths of two TFM members. Just minutes after the incident, some of their members were already in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) provincial office demanding justice while TFM chairman Christian Monsod appeared on national television condemning the violence almost at the same time, Umano said, adding that all these were captured by their cameras and immediately released to the media.
The scenarios bolster observation that TFM members are made “sacrificial lambs” by their higher officials to further their personal cause, Umano said.
The group also cited several instances that showed proof of collusion between TFM and top officials of the department.
Cadiz Maro Enrique Paderes was a victim of TFM’s influence over DAR, particularly former undersecretary Rodolfo Mangulabnan, the group claimed, adding that the former was arbitrarily transferred to another area after TFM considered him as hindrance to their agenda.
This collusion became apparent in Pangandaman’s term with the involvement of Undersecretary Narciso Nieto, Umano said.
Last June 20, 2006, the group claimed that TFM demanded the relief of regional director Alexis Arsenal, Maros Jose Renato Defiño of Isabela and Mario Lagahit of Sagay during a meeting in Malacañang with former presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor.
TFM also demanded the withdrawal of four criminal cases filed by DAR against several TFM leaders and members, Umano added.
In July 2006, the provincial DAR office received an unsigned Special Order from DAR Central Office on a “Negros Occidental’s Review of its Innovative Plan Cum Orientation and Back to Basic Training” which included only TFM officials and members, with no representatives from other peoples and non-government organizations.
However, the agrarian reform officers and provincial employees who were also participating in the workshop refused to enter the training venue in protest to the inclusion of TFM, the group also said.
