SEVEN people were injured when uniformed plantation guards allegedly fired at a group of farmers inside the area awarded to them around 7:20 a.m. Monday in Barangay Madaum, Tagum City.
Antonio Tuyak, spokesperson of Madaum Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Inc. (Marbai), identified the injured as Emmanuel Buladaco, Rico Saladaga, Jojo Gomez, Belardo Francisco, Jose Balucos, Joseph Bertulfo, and a certain "Talban", all members of Panalipdan Youth and Hugpong sa Mag-uuma sa Pantukan.
Tuyak said they received an order last December 9, 2016 from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) allowing them entry to the plantation.
"December 9, 2016 nakadawat og order para makasulod mi sa lugar nga gitamnan namo og mga saging nga gi-claim sa kompanya (We received an order on December 9, 2016 allowing us to enter an area, where we planted bananas, claimed by the company)," Tuyak told SunStar SuperBalita in a telephone interview Monday.
"Kami ang nagtikad aning sagingan, kalit lang anion nga naa na ma'y order gikan sa DAR nga makasulod mi. Ang mga namusil guwardiya gyud nila, nagtaptap pa sa ilang nawong (We were the ones who planted the bananas and yet they attacked us despite a DAR order to allow us to enter. They were plantation guards, they just covered their faces)," Tuyak said.
Tagum City police spokesperson Police Inspector Anjanette Tirador said they are investigating the case and that policemen have been deployed to avoid further encounters.
"As alleged, at galing din sa mga victims, na alleged mga security guards ng Lapanday Foods Corporation (LFC) ang namaril doon sa mga biktima na kasalukuyang nasa Davao Regional Hospital sa Tagum," Tirador said in a telephone interview.
Marbai and the Unyon farmers are beneficiaries of the 145-hectare banana plantation.
Lito Lao, spokesperson of Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura and Vice Chair of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas - Southern Mindanao Region, told Superbalita they went to the area upon receiving word that the plantation company was harvesting and they want to make sure the Marbai land is left untouched.
"Miadto mi sa area aron suportahan ang Marbai. Nakig-istorya mi sa opisyal sa security, pero kalit lang naay mibuto ug naay kauban namo nga nangatumba mao nga nanagan mi paingon sa kalsada (We went there to support Marbai. We talked with security officers when suddenly there were gunshots and we saw some of our people fall to the ground. That's why we ran towards the road)," Lao said.
Lao said they were negotiating in a sober manner, telling the security officers the land was awarded to Marbai, but a security guard who covered his face pointed his guns at them.
SuperBalita tried to get the side of LFC but has failed to establish contact as of press time.
But as early as October, LFC already denied taking over the land granted to the farmers.
"Lapanday Foods Corporation clarifies that it does not claim ownership over agrarian reform lands awarded to Hijo Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative and Hijo Employees Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative 1. This is in reaction to a recent gathering of members and sympathizers of these cooperatives at its offices in Davao City," LFC said in a statement last October.
The LFC said these cooperatives remain the absolute owners of these lands and they only want "these cooperatives honor and respect their valid and lawful contracts with LFC that mandate them to sell the bananas produced in their farms to LFC and allow LFC to manage their farms to ensure the quality of their produce."