Various youth groups held a lightning rally four days before National Peasant Day on October 21 to intensify their calls for genuine agrarian reform, justice for rampant human rights violations and land-related killings, and the rights of the peasantry.

The groups further slammed the 52nd anniversary of Presidential Decree No. 27, which enacted the land reform program under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

Although the decree is cited as a major milestone in land reform, the groups asserted it was largely insufficient, noting that farmers remained landless while big and foreign capitalists and landlords continued to dominate and benefit from the agricultural sector.

According to the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), around seven out of 10 Filipino farmers remain landless despite various land reform efforts over the years.

Defend Talaingod 13

On the same day, the Defend Talaingod 13 Network Alliance was launched to support the call for the junking of the court decision regarding the alleged child abuse charges against Rep. Satur Ocampo, ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro, and 11 other volunteer Lumad school teachers.

KMP highlighted the ongoing struggle for ancestral land rights and the importance of defending territory in the Pantaron Mountain Range for the survival of Lumad communities.

In 2019, the accused individuals participated in a National Solidarity Mission (NSM) in support of the Salugpongan Ta’ Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning Center, Inc., or Lumad Schools, which were on the brink of intensified militarization, food blockades, and threats of being bombed and demolished.

“The Lumad schools, which were built through the blood and sweat of their own people and support groups, have transformed and developed the state-abandoned communities by providing nationalist, scientific, and mass-oriented education anchored to their needs — the very reason why these schools have earned awards and recognition locally and internationally,” said KMP in a statement.

Despite this, the Duterte administration halted the operation of Lumad schools while militarization and bombing threats to the schools and indigenous communities remained persistent

According to Salugpongan, more than 56 Lumad schools were forced to shutdown and has deprived over 2,000 Lumad students of their right to education.

Under the Duterte administration, Mindanao was placed under martial law in 2017 following the outbreak of armed conflict in Marawi City. This declaration was extended three times by Congress, lasting until December 2019.

Various rights defenders argued that the prolonged martial law led to human rights violations, militarization, and the suppression of the right to self-determination, particularly in conflict-affected areas, similar to the case of the Talaingod 13.

KMP added that the attacks continue under yet another Marcos administration which paves the way for big-ticket projects such as megadams, large-scale mining, and wholesale logging that plunder and ravage the rich Lumad ancestral lands.

“We demand the dismissal of the trumped-up child abuse cases against the Talaingod 13. We call for an end to the attacks on Lumad communities and the abolition of all state policies and entities that violate the ancestral land rights of the Lumad people,” KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos demanded.

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