Peasants in Hacienda Yulo Vow to Continue Fighting for the Land They Till 11 June 2010

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat.com

CALAMBA, Laguna – Francesca Mangubat, 71, would always remember May 21, 2010 because on that day she almost lost not only the land her family has been tilling for years but also her husband Quirino.
The night before that fateful day, the residents of Sitio Buntod, Barangay Canlubang inside Hacienda Yulo in Calamba, Laguna, were already informed of the danger that is bound to happen the following day. News were circulating that people working for the Yulo family would be coming to continue cutting the coconut trees in the upper land of their village.

Francesca said these coconut trees were planted not only by their grandparents but also by the people currently residing in Sitio Buntod when they evacuated from Talisay, Batangas, after the Taal Volcano erupted in 1910. “They said that this place used to be a deserted forest. They pulled the weeds, planted trees and made the land productive.”

But unknown to the peasant families, 100 hectares of the land that they were tilling was originally owned by the Madrigal family, a well-known landed family in the Philippines. In a report provided by the Katipunan ng mga Samahang Magbubukid sa Timog Katagalugan (KASAMA-TK) and ang Samahan ng Mamamayang Nagkakaisa (SAMANA-Buntog), the peasants were allowed to stay and till the land in exchange for clearing the forest and making the land productive.... MORE   


Source:  Bulatlat

URL: http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2010/06/11/peasants-in-hacienda-yulo-vow-to-continue-fighting-for-the-land-they-till/