SOMETIMES in the late 80s, residents of Mandug including Lapanday workers fled their place to seek help from then Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte.
The issue was the attacks of the anti-communist paramilitary Tadtad who burned houses, attacked union leaders and accused them as New People’s Army (NPA) sympathizers.
The mayor tried to pass the responsibility to Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), who were supporting the union. But the late KMU leader Nonoy Librado reminded the mayor that this is a problem and responsibility of the city, regardless of political colors. The mayor relented and had police escort the residents back to their village.
This is a story told by veteran journalist Edwin Espejo, who noted that Lapanday has a history of unrest, and how local officials should learn how to handle an issue that is Lapanday.
The latest incident, the NPA attacks on the Lorenzo-owned Lapanday and Macondray plants, follows that thread of unrest over land problems.
The problem should not simply be seen as a security issue or a peace and order issue, but should be seen as a point of many issues concerning our social problems.
Foremost, it is an issue stemming from Lapanday's conflict with Marbai beneficiaries. This is where everything stems, the Lapanday Food Corp refusing to accede the 145-hectare land in Madaum to agrarian reform beneficiaries, and guards shooting seven farmers last December, and blocking DAR's implementation of the order a week before what happened in Davao.
This week, Lapanday management said it is open for a compromise, but not with DAR as they assert it has no jurisdiction because the disputed land is non-agrarian. Its head scratching how a plantation area is non-agrarian. But what kind of compromise would this be? And would Marbai accept? If talk this is, talk this must to reach an agreement. The conflict continues.
Another issue is what happens now to the Lapanday and Macondray workers affected by the incident? Is it true that they will lose their livelihood? Aren't these workers unionized and should they be have security of tenure or benefits from situations such as this?
As a security issue, there is one concern that Radyo ni Juan broadcaster Dodong Solis mentioned that I missed out. Was there a lapse from the security group, more particularly that the emergency response of fish vendor Larry Buenafe was held off for about two hours after he was accidentally hit by the NPA's detonated attack targeting the army tank.
First aid responders preached that time is of the essence, why did the military and police hold off rescue for such a long time? Another question is, what precautions could be made to secure residents from any impending attacks.
But the most important point is how to move forward to avoid such attacks. We can take off from the point of Panabo City Mayor James Gamao who issued a calm statement balancing his condemning the NPA attack on the Macondray Plastics plant in his city, but at the same time calling for peace talks with the groups to resolve deeper issues.
"Resolving differences and building a lasting peace can only be achieved through avoiding violence and initiating benevolent efforts with willingness and cooperation. Doing away from these will lead us farther away from the door of lasting harmony and stability," his statement said.
Let's see how the issues of land conflict, labor problems, and peace talks are carried out from this point forward.
tyvelez@gmail.com