The Sumilao farmers

Last Tuesday, the 15th of July, I attended the yearly Special Academic Convocation of the Ateneo de Manila University for the Conferment of Traditional University Awards. There are usually six awards and an honorary degree on humanities for this yearly fete in line with the university’s celebration of St. Ignatius de Loyola feast day that falls on 31st of July. For the school year 2008-09, the Ateneo de Manila University has conferred five awards. They are as follows: Bukas Palad Award upon Very Rev. Antonio Pernia, SVD – the first Asian and Filipino Superior General of a major international religious congregation/order of men in the Catholic Church; Eugenia Duran-Apostol, the Parangal Lingkod Sambayanan “in recognition of her pioneering work in keeping the flame of hope in the dark days of Martial law and beyond, and her leadership in promotion of community-based education in the country”; Gilda Cordero-Fernando, the Gawad Tanglaw ng Lahi “in recognition of her outstanding achievements in creative writing, publishing and theater arts, her championing of the Filipino artistic genius, and her unequivocal faith in the cultural greatness and spiritual destiny of the Filipino”; the Sumilao Farmers with Atty. Arlene Bag-ao, the Ozanam Award “in recognition of their faith and courage to seek justice through active non-violent way, and for letting their light shine on the entire nation”; and Fernando Hofileña, MD, the Lux in Domino Award “for his inspired leadership and immense contribution to the fields of Pediatrics, Child Psychiatry and Special Education in the Philippines; for shining his light on the acts of heroism and contribution to his fellowman; for constantly answering the call to serve with a resounding “yes”; and for embodying the Ignatian spirit of “magis” in the twenty-first century”. All the awardees are, truly, exemplary both by their lives and their works. There are two things that fascinated me in this annual conferment of awards by the Ateneo. The first is the marked absence of a recipient of the Government Service Award. The big puzzle to me is why with the number of Government people nationwide, none is found worthy for the said award. Me thinks that the deafening absence is either indicative of the level of “morality” that public service has fallen or simply an oversight of the Awards Committee. If the reason is the former, this is something very serious… and the absence of a recipient out of hundreds of thousands in public service is a prophetic indictment. The second fascination is the Ozanam Award conferred upon the Sumilao farmers with Atty. Arlene Bag-ao. The Award is named after Frederick Ozanam, the great French leader, who founded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul dedicated to the relief of the poor. The purpose of the Award is to give public honor to people who have given distinctive and continued service to their fellowmen in accordance with the principles of justice and charity. The Award is intended to emphasize the importance of closely living the social teachings and prophetic tradition considered as the best guarded secrets of the Catholic Church. I have asked permission from Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, SJ, President of the Ateneo, to freely quote from the citation read during the conferment. I have been deeply touched by the witness and values that the Sumilao farmers and Atty. Arlene Bag-ao have exemplary stood by in their struggle for their land in Bukidnon. The narrative began in October of 2007 when fifty five (40 men and 15 women), many of them from the Indigenous Higaonon tribe started a historic march that would bring them from a small town called Sumilao in Bukidnon to the streets of Metro Manila. They traveled on foot for more than 1,700 kilometers for more than two months, reaching the nation’s capital region on the first week of December 2007. The Sumilao farmers called their march a “Walk for Land, Walk for Justice.” They were fighting for a 144 hectare land that had been given to them more than ten years ago under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law. This land was then unjustly taken away from them by virtue of an order from the office of the president that gave the landowner the permit to convert the prime irrigated agricultural land to an agro-industrial area. The Supreme Court subsequently upheld the conversion order on technical grounds. “The Sumilao farmers’ story is not just about the land case or about the land. It is about a long arduous walk that was gallantly done with faith. It is about the journey for justice that a community of powerless farmers collectively pursued, and the solidarity that it engendered.” “The march was a walk to uncertainty. There was no assurance that upon reaching Metro Manila, the farmers would have a favorable resolution of their case. The only thing certain was their resolve to seek justice and to present their case and their cause. This enabled them to overcome the hunger and the fatigue, and to endure the heat and the rains. They were determined to reclaim their land and they strongly believed that somehow they would.” “The march was a call for solidarity. Throughout the march, the Sumilao farmers attracted the attention of people from all walks of life. Bystanders were transformed into supporters. People from both the rural and urban areas, religious and lay alike, joined the marchers as they walked, ate, and rested, and as they discussed their quest for justice.” ‘The destination of the march that started in Sumilao, Bukidnon was not the streets of Metro Manila. The march was not just the walk of the farmers; it was the walk of an entire country. The destination of that journey for justice was the farmlands of Sumilao, Bukidnon. It was the walk of a nation seeking to correct an age-old injustice. It was a journey to bring home the Sumilao farmers to the land that is rightfully theirs.” “The word ‘Sumilao’ refers to ‘shining light’. As farmers walked, step by step, day after day, they served as beacons of hope and inspiration, of faith and justice, traversing the dark straits of our country.” The Sumilao farmers with Atty. Arlene Bag-ao got a standing ovation from the crowd who were touched and inspired by the story of their “Walk for Land” and “Walk for Justice”.