By Raul Socrates Banzuela
Ang puno ng manggang hitik sa
pamumunga...pinupukol.
During the Langkaan Controversy in
1990, the peasant movement was deeply united to defend Butch when he was being
bypassed each time by the powerful Committee on ConfIrmation of Congress.
The public debate then was raging whether or not the piece of prime
agricultural land (Langkaan) in Cavite should give way to Joe Concepcion-supported
Marubeni industry.
Having been among the staunch
proponents of HB 400, which later became the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law
(CARL), together with Edcel Lagman and the late Boni Gillego, Butch becoming
Secretary of the DAR after the coup of 1989 and the ouster of Miriam as DAR
Secretary, was received by the peasant and the NGO movement with great
enthusiasm and anticipation of great things to come in the agrarian reform
front. It was no surprise then that even Jimmy Tadeo of KMP who REJECTED
CARP, came to join us in the gallery in the Senate supporting Butch's
confirmation and to witness the gallant defense for Butch's confirmation by
some Senators like Nene Pimentel.
The rest was history...and tragedy.
After a series of bypass, and an
expected awkward situation in the Cabinet where Joe Concepcion, DTI Secretary,
and Butch Abad, DAR Secretary, would be sitting side by side with President
Cory, he finally succumbed and resigned. It was among the saddest moments
in the peasant movement, feeling a great loss amidst the advance of the
anti-reform forces. Twenty four years
hence, almost all prime agricultural lands in CALABARZON has been wiped out, prime
and precious limited alluvial soil cemented to subdivisions and factories.
Meanwhile the peasant movement has remained in the streets, many of its
leaders, now senior citizens, still pushing, even pathetically just so Congress
would extend the life of CARPER two more years and Notice of Coverage could
still be issued to hundreds of thousands of hectares of land left uncovered, including
the 14,000 hectares of grabbed land (by Danding) in Bugsuk Island in Balabac,
Palawan.
Far from its original vision, a
government centerpiece program not very much unlike that which catapulted
Taiwan, South Korea and Japan to industrialization and modernization, CARP did
not get the Presidential leadership it badly needed (except, perhaps during
Ramos). Some 4 million farmers who received land (some 7 million hectares
reportedly distributed) remained un-attended with the necessary support
services (credit, extension, market, etc.), mostly still living below poverty
line.
Butch, as DBM Secretary, and with
strong support from PNoy, could have the second chance to help ensure funding
availability to support millions of agrarian reform beneficiaries achieve their
historic nation building role.
We just hope and pray, he does not
experience another awkward situation in the Cabinet and succumb the second
time...and resign.
We encourage him to stay put and stand
his ground, and remain united with reform forces in government, and to continue
to join the march of a people who has finally decided to take head-on the
scourge of patronage politics. A new day is dawning...three Senators will soon
be in jail.
