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Ka Daning Ramos hounded by surveillance, harassment—KMP

Veteran peasant leader Danilo Ramos and the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) that he leads is worried.

In a statement, the KMP revealed Ramos had been the subject of surveillance and harassment by men suspected to be government intelligence agents in at least two occasions this month.

Motorcyle-riding men had been asking for the whereabouts of Ramos and his residence in Malolos City, Bulacan on January 3 and 15, KMP reported.

“In one incident, one of the men reportedly asked bystanders: ‘Taga-saan ba si Danilo Ramos? Matagal na namin siyang hinahanap kasi terorista siya.’”  (Where does Danilo Ramos reside? We have long been looking for him because he is a terrorist.)

“This dangerous and brazen case of terror tagging poses a direct threat to the life of Ka Daning, his family, and other peasant leaders and members of the KMP and the progressive peasant movement,” the group said.

KMP and Tanggol Magsasaka (Defend Farmers) noted that the surveillance and harassment against Ramos have escalated since last year.

The last case of documented surveillance against the KMP chairperson happened in August 2023, the group added.

The victim and Tanggol Magsasaka immediately submitted reports to and held dialogues with the Commission on Human Rights on last year’s incident, KMP said.

Ramos was a survivor of the Mendiola Massacre of January 22, 1987 and went on to become a long-time KMP secretary general.

He succeeded Rafael Mariano as KMP chairperson when the latter briefly served as Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) secretary in 2016 to 2017.

KMP said despite non-stop harassment against Ramos, the farmer leader remains critical and outspoken on the policies and programs of the Department of Agriculture, DAR and Malacanang that affect farmers and fisherfolk.

The government meanwhile has weaponized laws against the agriculture sector , instead of heeding the plight of farmers and strengthening domestic agriculture, it added.

“We demand a stop to the harassment against Ka Daning (Ramos). We demand a stop to the attacks against farmers and the peasant masses who feed the nation,” KMP in its statement said.

“We call on all democracy-loving individuals and institutions, especially workers, human rights defenders, indigenous peoples’ rights advocates, Church people, environment defenders, and all sectors here and abroad to support Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos and all farmers fighting against landlessness, injustice, and impunity in the Philippines,” the group concluded. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Farmers: BBM should leave DA as gift to Filipinos on his bday

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) reiterated its call for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to leave the Department of Agriculture (DA) and appoint a competent full time secretary on the occasion of his 66th birthday last Wednesday.

In a statement on September 13, the farmers’ group said Marcos is not really serious in solving the problems of the agriculture sector and has proven to be incompetent at the job.

“He had been agriculture secretary for more than a year and we are seeing only bad results. He failed to fix the problems of agriculture and these only worsened,” KMP chairperson emeritus Rafael Mariano said.

“Rice prices did not go down to P20. It in fact rose to P50 to P60. There had been no relief to farmers and fisherfolk and importation has worsened. We hope he listens and steps down as DA secretary,” Mariano added.

Marcos spent his birthday in Singapore attending an Association of South East Asian Nations summit and the elitist Formula 1 Grand Prix on his second birthday in a row.

The KMP said agriculture has no hope with Marcos, adding the people are more hard up since he appointed himself agency secretary.

Various agricultural products such as rice, tomatoes, sugar, onions, chilli have experienced runaway prices under the Marcos presidency.

KMP, citing government data, said agriculture remains to be the weakest contributor to the country’s gross domestic product.

It added that the agricultural output further contracted in the second quarter of the year because of the decrease in fisheries production.

“Agricultural production weakened by 1.3% from April to June this year compared to 0.5% last year. This means that the gains of this year’s first quarter have been reversed,” KMP said.

The group further revealed that rice production has failed to increase in the past six years, averaging only -0.15% at 0.35% since 2017.

The President is being insensitive in attending the Formula 1 while the country is in crisis. It further proves he does not care about the people’s hardships brought about by runaway prices, KMP said.

KMP recalled that Supertyphoon Karding (Tropical Cyclone Noru) was barrelling towards the Philippines when he attended the Singapore Grand Prix last year. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Farmers, consumers: BBM’s rice price ceiling still too high

Rice prices may be lowered by several pesos more than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s price ceiling of P41 to P45 per kilo of regular to well-milled varieties, farmers and consumer rights advocates said.

Following Marcos’ issuance of Executive Order 39 issued last Thursday, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said rice prices could be as low as P30 to P37.40 if only the “rule of thumb” in pricing is imposed instead.

“For example, if the rice traders bought palay at the median price of P19 to 22 per kilo, the retail prices of palay may be more than P11 lower after drying, milling, hauling and transportation expenses are factored in,” KMP said.

The said rule of thumb allows traders and retailers to earn reasonably, the group added.

KMP said Marcos was obligated to order a price ceiling after the retail prices of rice spiked to as high as P50 to P60 in the past weeks.

But beyond price ceilings, KMP said the government should dismantle the rice cartel that controls the rice industry in the country.

The Bureau of Customs has recently raided warehouses in Central Luzon it said hoards rice and manipulates rice prices.

The farmers’ group also renewed its call for the repeal of Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Liberalization Law and the restoration of the National Food Authority mandate to buy significant volumes of palay from local producers.

KMP added that the government should focus on strengthening local rice production instead of importation.

India, a traditional source of imported rice, has earlier announced it will cut back on rice exports in anticipation of lower yields because of the El Nino weather phenomenon.

Consumer rights group Suki Network echoed KMP’s position that the new price ceiling is still too expensive without wage increases and financial aid to the poorest sectors.

“It will also be more helpful if the government extends genuine assistance to small farmers,” the network added.

Meanwhile, Malacanang Palace said the price ceiling shall remain in full force and effect until lifted by the President.

The President also told reporters in his briefing that he ordered the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Interior and Local Government, and the Department of Justice as monitoring agencies of the rice price ceilings. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Farmers warn gov’t of possible rice price manipulation schemes

Farmers asked Congress to investigate looming rice price manipulation schemes by private traders, saying claims of P34 to P36 per kilo of palay are ridiculously high.

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said it is alarmed by a rice miller’s claims that palay is being bought from P34 to P36 in Bulacan that may soon push rice prices to P60 per kilo.  

Bulacan miller Tony Santos said that farm gate prices of palay have reached such levels, a claimed backed by Federation of Free Farmers general manager Raul Montemayor in a Philippine Star interview.

The KMP however said the figures are inflated.

“[I]t is hard to believe that P34 per kilo is the prevailing price of palay when based on KMP’s monitoring…the palay price in Malolos, Bulacan is at P20 per kilo, P21 to P22 per kilo in Isabela, P20 per kilo in Mindoro Occidental,” KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos said.

Ramos added that it is not yet harvest season and they wonder where the claims are based.

 “It is in the interest of consumers and the public to know if there is a syndicated price manipulation and speculation going on to justify the increase in retail prices of rice,” Ramos said.

KMP said that while it advocates for the buying of palay directly from rice farmers at just prices, it does not agree with millers’ claims that an increase in palay prices is the ultimate reason for high rice prices.

The group said an existing cartel within the domestic rice industry—dominated by importers, traders and millers as well as corrupt officials within the Department of Agriculture—are to blame.

Failed rice importation policy

KMP pointed to the Rice Liberalization Law (RA 11203) and the government’s importation and agricultural trade liberalization policies as the culprits behind increasing rice prices.

“The government’s rice liberalization law crippled the National Food Authority’s (NFA) rice buffer stocking mandate and allowed the private sector to take over the entire rice industry, thereby putting rice farmers and consumers at the mercy of the rice cartel,” Ramos said.

KMP reiterated that the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government must do away with its importation policy especially with the very volatile rice supply and price situation after India’s export ban and strained rice supply in Asia due to the effects of El Nino.

The view is mirrored by Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women and rice watch group Bantay Bigas that also lambasted Marcos for insisting on rice importations as his last resort to the problem.

“Because the government relies on rice importation instead of letting the NFA increase its local procurement, stocks from local farmers have all been snapped up by the private traders,” Amihan secretary general and Bantay Bigay spokesperson Cathy Estavillo said.

Estavillo said rice importation is not the immediate solution. Rather, the government should look for the stocks hoarded by private traders. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Farmers: No to intel funds, yes to social services

Farmer groups said the government’s proposed P5.678 trillion 2024 budget must be carefully scrutinized, adding planned intelligence and debt servicing funds should be allocated to social services instead.

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said that the Office of the President, Office of the Vice President and the Department of National Defense are needlessly allocated P4.5 billion, P500 million and P1.7 billion, respectively.

“These proposed confidential and intelligence funds should be re-channeled to social services instead,” KMP said.

The KMP also said the P700 billion earmarked for debt servicing (12% of the proposed budget) as well as the P282 billion for national defense (4.9%) are more than the P893 billion (15%) for all public services combined.

The Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration’s proposed 2024 infrastructure program is even bigger at P1.4 trillion, the farmers’ group said.

“There should be enough time to study and scrutinize the proposed budget. It is hard to believe this is a pork barrel-free budget. Because this will come from people’s taxes, everyone must be alert or else, this will only be wasted by corruption,” the KMP said in the statement.

KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos also said they will scrutinize the proposed budget for the Department of Agriculture, Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Environment and Natural Resources to see how they would be spent to respond to the problems of the agriculture sector.

Ramos added that the sector would press for more funds for subsidies for greater local agricultural production.

The Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) also questioned the total of about P10 billion confidential and intelligence fund proposal as “Like footing the bill for being stepped on.”

UMA expressed fears the said items will only be used for used to suppress the labor and peasant movements through surveillance and other human rights violations.

“Why should the people agree to pay for this regime’s fascism and corruption? We are their victims and yet they ask us to pay,” UMA acting chairperson Ariel Casilao said.

UMA pointed out farmers are victims of harassments and vilification campaigns of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, such as the Batangas and Isabela sugar workers.

The group also blamed the massacre of the Fausto family in Negros Occidental for being members of a local farmers’ association.

“That is how the regime will spend the P10 billion – with trumped up stories and charges. Sadly, the effects are not fiction. Blood is spilled by their actions,” Casilao said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Farmers ask gov’t to bare El Niño action plan to address irrigation water shortage

By Nuel M. Bacarra

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) called on the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government’s El Niño Task Force to lay down concrete plans to address irrigation problems farmers are starting to face since the weather phenomenon started.

According to the farmers’ group, many provinces in Luzon are likely to experience dry spells, Mindanao will experience dry conditions, while Camarines Norte and Southern Leyte provinces will be vulnerable to drought.

“We have been warned. El Niño is here and we must prepare for more extreme heat in the coming months. An El Niño episode typically lasts for 9 to 12 months,” KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos said in a statement.

“We want to know NIA’s concrete plans on how to help farmers cope with El Niño and how to ensure the availability of rice and food crops despite extreme weather events,” Ramos said.

KMP proposed to NIA to immediately implement plans for effective use and management of water resources, restoration of irrigation systems and construction of climate-resilient irrigation systems and facilities.

“Kayang mapababa ng mula 20 hanggang 30 porsyento ang paggamit ng tubig sa mga sakahan ng palay basta epektibo at mahusay ang pag-manage ng NIA ng tubig. Hindi kailangang alisan o bawasan ng tubig para sa irigasyon ng mga magsasaka natin sa Pampanga at Bulacan,” KMP chairman emeritus Rafael Mariano said.

(Water consumption for farmlands can be reduced by 20% to 30% if NIA will effectively and properly manage water supply. Water requirements for irrigation for Pampanga and Bulacan’s farmers should not be not be stopped nor reduced).

KMP asked the government to bare complete details and information of its plans to solve the irrigation water shortage because of El Niño. It will seek an urgent dialogue with DA and NIA officials to discuss mitigation efforts.

The National Water Resources Board has started reduction of water supply for irrigation and domestic use purposes from Norzagaray, Bulacan’s Angat Dam since last month.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Hydromet Division reported the water level at Angat Dam has already dropped below its normal operating level of 180 meters to 179.23 meters.

Angat Dam irrigates around 85,000 hectares of farmlands in Central Luzon and is the main supplier of water to Metro Manila.

Domestic use over irrigation

Meanwhile, an official of the National economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has assured the Filipino people that President Marcos is already taking measures to lessen the possible negative impacts of El Niño in the country.

NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said that the worst effects of El Niño will be felt early next year.

Edillon also cited that irrigation water should be reduced in favor of residential use to help ease the effects of the phenomenon among Metro Manila residents.

The official said the rice planting season is over anyway.

PAGASA has officially declared on July 4 the start of El Niño in the country and has also predicted an 80% probability that the country will be under the weather phenomenon until the first quarter of 2024.

The country will possibly experience below normal rainfall conditions and temperature spikes, PAGASA said. #

Farmers back salt industry development bill, ask similar support for other rural industries

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said it supports the Salt Industry Development Bill (House Bill 8278) that the House of Representatives passed on its third and final reading last Monday.

The KMP said it once the measure becomes law, it may solve the country’s dependence on imported salt that currently stands at 90% of domestic requirements.

“As an archipelagic country with a long stretch of shoreline, it is ironic that we are a net importer of salt, with 90% of our salt consumption imported from Australia, China, New Zealand, and Thailand,” the KMP said.

“This measure, if enacted and enforced conscientiously, will help revive the dying domestic salt industry, and can give employment to the rural population, especially fisher-folk,” the group added.

The bill seeks to revitalize the salt industry, attain increased income for salt farmers and salt producers, achieve salt self-sufficiency, and become a net exporter of salt.

The said bill also aims to promote and support artisanal salt farming, as well as available non-traditional alternative methods and techniques of salt farming that allow year-round production of salt even under erratic weather patterns.

Agri Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee, one of the principal authors of the House bill, told CNN Philippines House Bill 8278’ passage has the potential to create 3,000 to 5,000 jobs in the country’s rural and agricultural communities.

“By putting focus on the industry, we can generate thousands of jobs and lessen the burden of salt farmers, salt producers, and their families. This will also contribute to the country’s economy,” Lee said in Filipino.

The KMP said Bulacan province used to be a major salt-producing province, supplying 45% of the country’s salt requirements. However, the conversion of coastal areas and urban development in the province decimated its local salt industry, forcing traditional salt makers out of business.

“Worsening climate change has also affected local salt production as traditional salt producers use solar evaporation to extract salt in coastal areas. Likewise, the Philippines’ entry into the GATT-WTO Agreement on Agriculture in 1995, allowed the influx of cheap salt imports,” the KMP said. 

Aside from the salt industry, the group said other rural industries must receive similar support for genuine agricultural development.

“[C]oconut,  sugar, meat processing, dairy products, leather processing, abaca products, clothing and textiles, furniture, bamboo and rattan, fish processing, fruit, spices, and vegetable processing; agricultural by-products processing and seaweeds processing must also undergo genuine development to meet the needs of the people, local industries and the domestic economy as a whole,” the group said.

“The development of major rural industries will provide social capital towards planned and sustained rural development,” according to KMP. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

[Featured photo: The Dasol Salt Farms in Pangasinan province is among the last thriving such operations in the Philippines. (Photo from the Pangasinan Provincial Tourism and Cultural Office: https://seepangasinan.com/places/dasol-salt-farm/]

Farmers protest sugar mill closure, abrupt loss of livelihood

Planters bring rotting sugarcane to posh Bonifacio Global City to dramatize plight

Farmers’ groups asked the authorities to take over operations of a Batangas sugar mill they say closed down due to the government non-stop importation policies as well as failure to stop smuggling of agricultural products into the country.

Representatives of more than 12,000 sugar farm workers of the Central Azucarera de Don Pedro, Inc. (CADPI) in Nasugbu, Batangas protested in front of mill operator Roxas Holdings, Inc. (RHI) in Taguig City on Friday, March 17, demanding immediate aid for their abrupt loss of livelihood since December of last year.

Dumping dried up and rotting sugarcane shoots in front of RHI’s headquarters to show the status of their un-harvested and un-milled crop, the protesters also pressed the government to re-open the mill instead of relying on sugar imports.

They were joined by members of the Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA), Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), and the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW).

CADPI, one of the oldest and biggest raw sugar producers in Luzon, filed for permanent closure last December 15 after “experiencing operational and financial challenges affecting the sugar industry in the Batangas area.”

The closure affects 10,980 hectares of sugarcane areas and has so far left 4,584 sugarcane planters bankrupt.

UMA spokesperson and NFSW secretary general John Milton Lozande said CADPI’s abrupt closure ignores its existing milling contracts with small planters as well as its service agreements with several hauling partners.

“Sugar farm workers who cut and load sugarcane from the fields to the milling facilities have been jobless since December. The RHI Agri-Business Development Corporation (RADC) also entered into crop loan and contract growing agreements with various sugar planters who are not yet paid due to the mill closure,” Lozande said.

Dried and rotting sugar cane the farmers brought to a posh corporate headquarters to dramatize their sudden loss of livelihood. (KMP-supplied photo)

Lozande also revealed that the farmers held a dialogue with Department of Agriculture (DA) undersecretary Domingo Panganiban last February 15 who promised to have their crops milled at the Central Azucarera de Tarlac (CAT).

Lozande said that both the DA and the Batangas provincial government agreed to fund the cost of transporting 60 to 70 truckloads of sugarcane to CAT, but remains unfulfilled until the planters’ crops have gone way past their regular harvesting period.

The affected farm workers and planters are demanding that the promised fund be used for compensation for their losses instead.

Aside from the uncontrolled smuggling of sugar into the country, KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos blamed the situation to the government’s “non-stop importation” policy, with the latest Sugar Order instructing the importation of some 440,000 metric tons of sugar.

“The government should support local sugar farmers and planters instead of relying on sugar imports,” Ramos said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Farmers reiterate call for VAT removal on oil products

‘Mabuti pa ang mga turista’–KMP

On the eve of another round of increases in prices of petroleum products, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) reiterated its demand for the removal of value added taxes (VAT) on diesel, gasoline, kerosene and cooking gas.

Reacting to the government’s announcement that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved VAT reimbursements to foreign tourists, the farmer’s group said the government should first provide relief to low-income families.

“Unahin muna dapat ng gobyerno na tugunan ang panawagan ng publiko na alisin na ang VAT sa langis para bumaba ang presyo ng mga produktong petrolyo. Pero ang ginawang prayoridad ng Pangulo ay bigyan ng VAT refund ang mga turistang papasok sa bansa,” KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos said.

(The government should first approve demands to remove the VAT on oil in order for prices to go down on petroleum products. But the president instead prioritized VAT refunds for foreign tourists.)

Based on the Department of Energy’s price monitoring, the net increase so far this year is ₱5.90 per liter for gasoline, ₱2.05/L for diesel, and ₱3.20/L for kerosene.

Estimates show that gasoline prices will increase tomorrow by ₱1.30/L, Diesel by ₱1.00/L, and Kerosene by ₱1.35/L.

A big-time price increase on LPG is also expected starting in February or as much as ₱9.50 per kilogram or ₱104.50 per LPG cylinder, the KMP revealed.

KMP’s Ramos added that government’s VAT Refund Program for foreign tourists is part of Quick Wins recommendations from the Private Sector Advisory Council that were approved by Marcos Jr.

“This shows the President’s unending favor to private companies and the private sector over public interest,” Ramos added.

Poor Filipinos first

KMP said scrapping the oil excise taxes under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law will provide immediate relief to Filipinos and help control the rising inflation.

Removing the excise tax and VAT on oil will remove P6 per liter from diesel, P5.35 per liter for unleaded gasoline, and P3 per kilogram of LPG, the group said.

Oil revenue losses can be offset by also suspending the corporate income tax cuts under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Law.

“Reducing indirect consumption taxes such as on oil and increasing direct taxes on income makes the tax system more progressive,” the KMP said.

The farmers’ group said Filipinos are still reeling from the damaging effects of frequent oil price hikes in 2022.

Oil prices hiked for 11 consecutive weeks in January to March of last year.

The net year-to-date price increase in 2022 was at ₱14.90/L for gasoline, ₱27.30/L for diesel, and ₱21.30/L for kerosene. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

‘We need a full-time, hardworking, and sincere agriculture secretary’

Malinaw ang panawagan ng mga magsasaka mula sa Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) na magbitaw na sa pwesto si Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. bilang secretary ng Department of Agriculture (DA), at sa halip ay magtalaga na ng isang full-time secretary para sa kagawaran.

Binatikos din ng KMP ang pakikipag-usap ni Marcos Jr. sa Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) noong Oktubre 21 upang hingin ang kanilang payo para tugunan ang krisis sa pagkain.

“He snubbed the farmer-proposed Doables in Agriculture and chose to listen only to business executives,” ani ni KMP Chairperson Danilo Ramos sa kanilang inilabas na pahayag. Binanggit din ni Ramos na ang isa sa lead convenor ng PSAC ay mula sa Aboitiz Group na isa rin sa nangunang contributor ni Marcos Jr. noong eleksyon.

“Marcos’s group of advisers obviously have business and profit as their top priorities. Farmers and food producers on the other hand, are proposing concrete and actionable measures on how to boost local food production, how to genuinely develop the agriculture sector, and protect farmers and consumers alike from inflation shocks. [We need] to genuinely strengthen agriculture and fight hunger, Marcos Jr. should heed the demands of farmers, fisherfolk and food producers,” pagtatapos ng KMP sa kanilang pahayag.