"When Blood again spilled the Sugarcane Fields"
(Notes on the recent murder at Negros Oriental)
As Filipinos been glued to the gutter jokes and delusion of their president in every social media sites, last March 30 2019, 14 farmers were killed by the police and the military, Eight were massacred in Canlaon, four murdered in Manjuyod, and two more in Sta. Catalina in a coordinated state-sanctioned killing sprees.
Just like the actions that targeted most of the poor masses, this murderous act brought by the order was the second massacre of farmers during the term of President Rodrigo Duterte after the Sagay Massacre wherein nine sugarcane workers were killed in Negros Occidental in October 2018.
But for the order and its apologists, this murderous act, like the past actions, as nothing but a police action, thinking that those been killed as nonetheless rebels, and this clearly shows the ruthless “policy of killing” that the Duterte regime utilizes in solving poverty and hunger among hundreds of thousands of poor farmers in Negros Island. Without an official program for land reform under his helm, President Duterte have no qualms in eradicating rural poverty by putting to death hundreds of poor peasants.
Aggravating the existing tension through blood and slander
But for the order and its apologists, this murderous act, like the past actions, as nothing but a police action, thinking that those been killed as nonetheless rebels, and this clearly shows the ruthless “policy of killing” that the Duterte regime utilizes in solving poverty and hunger among hundreds of thousands of poor farmers in Negros Island. Without an official program for land reform under his helm, President Duterte have no qualms in eradicating rural poverty by putting to death hundreds of poor peasants.
Aggravating the existing tension through blood and slander
Firstly, the action brought about by the order shows the intensifying struggle between the landlords trying to upheld their interests and the peasants whom demanding land and justice. With 14 farmers killed and some arrested on the basis of subversion, this murderous act hath again fuelled anger from peasants as well as concerned groups and individuals alike, thinking that the regime whom supposed to be for the common man rather chose to continue its oppressive legacy as its predecessors. This may sound usual at first since Philippines remains backward and predominatly agrarian benefiting vested interests, but to think that with a regime trying to assume itself as developmentalist as its predecessors, rather tends to continue a bloodied legacy- silencing those who actively demanding for land, peace, and justice; what more of branding them as subversives and rebels by its apologists.
With this, the Duterte regime, who behind its populism hath betrayed the people with gutter-level statements and bloodied acts, and this time outrightly taketh the action against the concerned masses through various acts be it unjust arrests to those of this bloodied action that costs the lives of these peasants.
Secondly, the Duterte regime's bloodied action, like all others, is one of the ways to tighten the interests of the landlords, compradores, and its imperialist overlords whose foothold remains through its unjust agreements. No matter how the regime appears as "for the people", of invoking "change", or even opposing imperialist interests like in the case of Duterte's comments against Americans and making pseudo-banter against the Chinese, the Duterte regime would like nothing better than to maintain order on the ruling class's behalf, and that includes the use of both police and military power alongside token "reforms" meant to appease if not to silence the working class.
What more that its apologists in social media sites would start churning two and fro justifications meant to show that these thugs in uniform were doing an operation, no matter how "unarmed" these "rebels" were at that time; if not maligning those who vent their grievances in an organised way as "subversives" and therefore face the system's impunity. In fact, on top of the killings, 16 more have been illegally arrested, all on fabricated charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
What more that its apologists in social media sites would start churning two and fro justifications meant to show that these thugs in uniform were doing an operation, no matter how "unarmed" these "rebels" were at that time; if not maligning those who vent their grievances in an organised way as "subversives" and therefore face the system's impunity. In fact, on top of the killings, 16 more have been illegally arrested, all on fabricated charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
And while Provincial police director, Sr. Supt. Raul Tacaca described these slain peasants as suspected communist rebels, and even linked to foiled assassination plots against state forces, fabricating such charges is a common enough exercise by the police when accosting organized peasants and activists, all designed to curb their participation in the growing struggle for land and justice in which the state has been suppressing for decades, if not centuries.
Will justice prevail for the peasants and the masses?
Will justice prevail for the peasants and the masses?
With this massacre somehow a cocnerned see why should oppose the regime's bloodied exploits; also to think that ironically, the tragedy itself was two days shy of the third anniversary of the Kidapawan Massacre. How coincidental then, but to think that whether using the insurgency or drugs for a reason, the killing of innocent peasants is motivated by the same reason as the past: to upheld the feudal order by invoking fear amongst them;
And like the dictatorial regime of Rios Montt in Honduras decades ago- this "frijoles y fusiles" variant of the present Duterte administration, either by providing them "something beneficial" in exchange for coercing them to surrender as rebels, or simply by the bullet and be justified, misinterpreted, cannot stop the concerned from seeking truth from facts if not to oppose them all throughout.
All in all, the bloodied actions brought by the order doesn't create an atmosphere of "stability" as apologists may say, for bluntly speaking, the war on drugs is nothing but a war on poor, the counterinsurgency operations is also nothing but a war against the looming opposition, and that massacre, like all others, has made the concerned saw how unjust the administration's way of resolving the peasant problem if not an "impositon of justice", making chances of their "perception of peace based on social justice" as impossible.
And like the dictatorial regime of Rios Montt in Honduras decades ago- this "frijoles y fusiles" variant of the present Duterte administration, either by providing them "something beneficial" in exchange for coercing them to surrender as rebels, or simply by the bullet and be justified, misinterpreted, cannot stop the concerned from seeking truth from facts if not to oppose them all throughout.
All in all, the bloodied actions brought by the order doesn't create an atmosphere of "stability" as apologists may say, for bluntly speaking, the war on drugs is nothing but a war on poor, the counterinsurgency operations is also nothing but a war against the looming opposition, and that massacre, like all others, has made the concerned saw how unjust the administration's way of resolving the peasant problem if not an "impositon of justice", making chances of their "perception of peace based on social justice" as impossible.