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Presidential bets condemn violent N. Cotabato dispersal


Presidential candidates Senator Grace Poe, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago and Liberal Party bet Mar Roxas as well as the camps of Vice President Binay and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Friday condemned the violent dispersal of protesting farmers in North Cotabato.

In a press statement, Poe said the farmers staged their activity for a rightful demand: government aid amid the drought being experienced in the province, which is killing their crops and depriving them of harvest and food to eat.

"This should have been attended to by the concerned  agencies at the outset that would have prevented the farmers from taking to the streets. The situation calls for authorities and concerned agencies to immediately investigate and resolve the case, and bring to justice those responsible," she said.

Binay's campaign spokesperson, lawyer Rico Quicho, said the Vice President deplores the use of violence to disperse farmers demanding rice from the government.

"Bigas ang hinihingi, pero bala ang ibinigay. Hunger is a reality that must be addressed not by violence but by compassion and concrete programs to improve the lives of the poor," he said in a press statement.

Santiago, meanwhile, said the right to protest was guaranteed under the Constitution

"It is vile enough that this administration has failed to support the farmers and lumads of Kidapawan during the prolonged drought in Mindanao. But it is downright inhuman for them to shoot at the same people begging for help," Santiago said.

"In the first place, there would not have been a protest if only these people felt compassion from their leaders. This government cannot claim to be pro-poor when it answers pleas for help with bursts of gunshot," she added.

In his statement, meanwhile, Roxas pushed for a probe into the "true cause" of the incident.

"Mariin nating kinukundena ang gulong naganap sa Kidapawan kaninang umaga. Nakakabahala ang balitang nagkaroon ng gulo  sa pagitan ng mga awtoridad at mga raliyista," Roxas said in a statement.

"The first task of the day is to restore order to area and make sure that no clash happens again. The wounded on either side should be tended to. I call on the PNP and other concerned agencies to investigate as to the true cause of the clash and, if warranted, punish those who may be accountable," he added.

PNoy to blame

Duterte's camp, meanwhile, said President Benigno Aquino III cannot escape blame and responsibility to the bloody assault against the farmers demanding for food after a prolonged dry spell.

"A hungry people demanding food do not deserve to be shot. We call on the Aquino government to immediately order all those involved in the shooting to be disarmed, investigated and dealt with the full might and extent of the law," Leoncio Evasco Jr., national campaign manager of Duterte for President, said in a statement.

He added that now is the time for the Commission on Human Rights to condemn the act saying an unarmed, defenseless throng of people asking for food poses no danger and "in fact, they are in danger."

"Why, oh why should government resort to this state violence? What is happening to our country? Why meet with state violence the clamor for change – a change of the way things and the affairs of the state is run by the government," he said.

He added the people cannot be blamed to be angry with the government as the latter has been impervious to the suffering of the people.

"Those who are responsible – and the blame should reach all the way to the top - must be made to pay for the blood spilled in this country and the innocent lives lost. There will be time for reckoning," said Evasco.

Maximum tolerance

Poe's running mate Senator Francis Escudero said authorities should have exercised maximum tolerance and facilitated peaceful dispersal, considering that those farmers have “all the right to gather and speak freely on matters that affect their livelihood and well-being.”

“The government must be reminded that violence can never be a solution to any perceived differences since there are other peaceful and constructive means of resolving differences,” he said in a press statement.

The agriculture sector hosts 60 percent of the poorest in the country, and Escudero said there is a need to increase the budget allocation for farmers and fisherfolk to at least P300 billion annually to help improve their plight and increase their household income.

Under the P3.02-trillion budget of the administration, the sector gets only P94 billion.

Vice presidential bet Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., for his part, urged the creation of an inter-agency committee to address the situation and start a dialogue.

“Cooler heads must take the lead so we can come up with a win-win solution to their plight. The farmers are just asking for food to feed their children and it is lamentable that the government has answered them with bullets,” he said in a press statement.

“It is an act of desperation and I could not blame them. They are hungry for months, their crops are gone, damaged by El Nino. This should be a wake-up call to our government, our DA officials especially to double their efforts to help them,” he added.

Marcos said the DA should account for the P2.1 billion specially earmarked to assist farmers affected by the drought conditions caused by El Nino and spur agricultural production in the first quarter of 2016.

“The question now is, how is the DA spending the P2.1 billion budget set to help our drought-affected farmers? The DA should explain so that the government can fine-tune the programs set and if needed, allocate more funds to augment it,” he said.

Duterte's running mate Alan Peter Cayetano described the incident as "the height of impunity."

"There is no reason in this world to shoot farmers who were merely demanding from the government help from the oppressive drought. This is totally unacceptable. This is the height of impunity," Cayetano said.
 
"Mayor Duterte and I vow to seek justice for the farmers. We will hold all those responsible for this despicable crime accountable,” Cayetano added. 
 
Roxas' running mate Leni Robredo also expressed sadness over the incident.

"Ikinalulungkot ko ng labis ang karahasang naganap," she said in a statement.

Marapat lang na imbestigahan ang puno't dulo ng marahas na pangyayaring ito at panagutin ang mga may sala."

Senators Ferdinand Marcos, Chiz Escudero, and Alan Peter Cayetano had earlier issued statements condemning the violent dispersal.

The Philippine National Police said a probe of the incident is already underway.—Amita Legaspi/JST, GMA News

 

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