Tinang farmers, supporters refuse to enter plea over 'bungkalan' incident

The 83 Hacienda Tinang farmers and their supporters on Friday refused to enter a plea over the charges filed against them before the Capas, Tarlac Municipal Circuit Trial Court, their lawyer said Friday.

Charges of malicious mischief and illegal assembly were filed against the 83 accused for performing a ceremonial cultivation of land or "bungkalan" in Hacienda Tinang to mark the anniversary of the passage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) law last June 10.

"Tapos na arraignment and an overwhelming majority of the Tinang 83, when asked by the court how they would plea, have manifested, I am being harassed by state, I refuse to enter a plea," lawyer Erickson dela Cruz, co-counsel for the accused collectively known as Tinang 83, said in a statement.

"The court then entered a plea of not guilty for these accused," he added.

As this developed, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) expressed support for the Tinang farmers and their supporters by calling for the dropping of all charges against them.

"The baseless charges and accusations against the farmers and advocates remain. The installation of the Tinang farmers to the lands awarded to them remains stalled and undone. The quest for justice continues," the group said.

"We insist: Planting food is not a crime and supporting farmers is not a criminal act."

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) earlier said that the distribution of farm lots to individual farmer beneficiaries of Hacienda Tinang covered by the CARP law has been put on hold due to the charges filed against the farmers and their supporters for their cultivation activity. 

A collective Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) has been issued to around 236 Tinang farmers way back in 1995, but the farmer-beneficiaries have yet to be awarded individual titles to this day.

DAR Assistant Secretary John Laña said during the Laging Handa briefing that the agency would release the names of 177 agrarian reform beneficiaries of Hacienda Tinang within the day. 

In a separate statement, the National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates (NNARA)-Youth, a youth peasant advocacy group, condemned the police for filing additional charges during the arraignment.

The additional charges include resistance and disobedience, obstruction of justice, and usurpation of real rights.

"Subpoenas were served at the Capas Municipal Circuit Trial Court during the arraignment today. A preliminary investigation is set on June 29. That the subpoenas for the three additional trumped up charges were served while the illegal assembly and malicious mischief cases were being heard today shows the height of desperation of state forces," NNARA-Youth's John Mark de Mesa, one of the 83 individuals who were charged in court, said.

"It is clear that these are trumped up charges. The land rights have already been awarded to the 236 original agrarian reform beneficiaries way back in 1995 when they were awarded with their collective CLOAs. How can they usurp the land that they already own? More importantly, what kind of government criminalizes a productive land cultivation campaign that aims to produce food for the benefit of all?," De Mesa added. —KBK/VBL, GMA News