Lapanday farmers hold protest in Makati over land dispute

Lapanday farmers staged a protest on Friday in front of Lapanday Foods Corporation's office in Makati City as part of their demand to turn over the disputed lands to agrarian reform beneficiaries, GMA News' Marisol Abdurahman reported on Balitanghali.

"Kinamkam ang mga lupa doon sa Mindanao at pinatay ang mga kasama naming mga magsasaka," one of the protesters said.

The group pounded and locked the gates of Lapanday Foods Corporation.

They also wrote "Land grabber" on the walls of the office in Makati while some brought streamers with "notice to vacate" written on it as they demand the company to vacate the lands.

The protest also caused heavy traffic along the area.

About 200 banana plantation farmers earlier went to Mendiola to ask President Rodrigo Duterte to intervene and direct Lapanday Foods Corporation to abide by government orders to turn over the lands to agrarian reform beneficiaries.

The farmers belong to the Madaum Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Inc. (MARBAI) in Lapanday Foods Corporation in Tagum, Davao del Norte. They have been camping out in Mendiola since May 1.

Duterte earlier promised the Lapanday farmers that the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) would solve their problem with Lapanday Foods Corporation.

Lapanday Food Corporation, on its part, expressed dismay over the incident.

"Lapanday Food Corporation has never said that it owned those lands," Lapanday Food Corporation spokesperson Hernani Geronimo said.

To recall, Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano on April 18 was supposed to install MARBAI farmers to the 145-hectare land, but it was postponed to "ensure the safety and security of agrarian reform beneficiaries."

Lapanday Foods Corp. deployed 800 armed security guards to barricade the banana plantation.

Last March 7, Lapanday farmers already met with members of the House of Representatives when the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) conducted an initial inquiry with Department of Agrarian Reform officials and Lapanday to investigate incidents of violence.

The farmers, who are earning P50 to P70 per day, also demand the following:

• Immediate installation of farm workers and agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB) to their lands.
• Rescind of the onerous agribusiness venture agreement between the ARBs and Lapanday.
• End the violence and attacks against farm workers. Pull-out and punish armed security guards and goons of Lapanday.
• Implement genuine agrarian reform.

Lapanday farmers are set to stage a bigger protest in Mendiola on Friday night as part of their send-off ceremony since they will be going back to Davao on Saturday morning. —Marlly Bondoc/NB, GMA News