Tanggol Magsasaka held a Peasant Rights Conference (PRC) last November 28 to 29, 2022 in the Institute of Small Scale Industries (ISSI), UP Diliman, Quezon City. A total of 78 delegates from 12 regional and local peasant associations, and 13 national formations and advocacy organizations participated. The delegates listened to various speakers engaged in, reported their own, and discussed collectively how to advance human rights (HR) work, particularly in rural areas.
Day 1 was hosted by Attys. JR Gonzalo and Abby Amman from the Sentro para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (SENTRA). It consisted of inputs and presentations from invited resource persons.
The delegates were first welcomed by Fr. Rudy Abao, MSC from Citizens Rights Watch Network (CRWN). Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) National Chairperson Danilo Ramos then delivered the opening remarks, highlighting the significance of the gathering.
Melchor Cayabyab, Head of HR and Education Training of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), was the first speaker. He presented the Constitutional foundations of the government’s HR obligations, ending with an impassioned speech on how HR is historically fought for by the people and urging the delegates to continue the fight.
He was followed by KARAPATAN Secretary General Cristina Palabay who shared their monitoring of the many cases of state-perpetuated HR violation by the past administration, taking note of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), which since 2018 led an intensified campaign of red-tagging, terrorist-labeling, and forcing/faking rebel surrenderees.
Next was Atty. Angelo Karlo Guillen of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) delivered his presentation from Panay via online conferencing. He explained how governments’ counter-terrorism framework criminalizes non-state groups engaged in armed struggles for political purposes, delegitimizes their issues and ideologies, deny the applicability of international humanitarian law (IHL), which ultimately reducing civic space and weakening democratic institutions.
NUPL Secretary General Atty. Ephraim Cortez then told of legal pushbacks against red-tagging. He described various legal options for the victims of HR violations. Atty. Luz Perez from SENTRA then discussed their work in handling agrarian cases and countering the criminalization of agrarian disputes. Both Attys. Cortez and Perez shared particular cases, underscoring the importance of firm organizational unity among farmers and of broad/popular support amid legal battles.
Cita Managuelod from Danggayan - Cagayan Valley and Orly Marcellana from KASAMA - Timog Katagalugan then presented best practices in facing forced/fake surrenderee campaigns and in documenting HR violations against peasants, respectively. Their inputs were followed by the sharing of the delegates from regional and local peasant organizations.
The day ended after an inspiring open forum wherein the delegates reaffirmed their commitment to defending and advancing the rights of their fellow farmers despite heightening state repression.
Day 2 was dedicated to the strengthening of the Tanggol Magsasaka network and was facilitated by Managuelod, Marcellana, and KMP Deputy Secretary General Maureen Hermitanio. It began by resuming the sharing of local HR situations and experiences in HR work, followed by a brief re-orientation on the character and tasks of Tanggol Magsasaka. Mr. Alex Labado from SENTRA then reviewed documentation work, the most basic work of the network.
The entire afternoon was devoted to a planning session done through a world cafe. The delegates built expansive plans on capacity building and training, publicity and education, activities and events, alliance and lobbying, and building international solidarity.
The PRC was closed with a short march to CHR and a brief program along Commonwealth Avenue. The delegates lit torches to symbolize the perseverance of the organizations they represent in defending peasant rights. #
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