Thousands of farmers could have been prevented from losing their land if the amount allocated by the government for Vice President Sara Duterte’s P125 million confidential funds had been used for agrarian and agricultural reform.
This is what Union of Agricultural Workers (UMA) spokesperson Ariel “Ka Ayik” Casilao shared this Wednesday while Duterte was pandering to the controversial surveillance fund, which was said to have been used up in just 11 days.
“8,333 magsasaka sana ang nakinabang sa P125 milyong confidential funds ni Sara Duterte na inubos niya sa 11 araw lamang,” said Casilao.
“757 magsasaka sana ang nabigyan ng P15,000 subsidyo sa produksyon kada araw na winaldas niya ang pera ng bayan.”
The UMA and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas has long called for farmers to be supported to make farms more productive while lowering retail costs for food staples such as rice.
Duterte was first criticized after repeatedly refusing to detail how the “confidential” funds they obtained in 2022 were spent. It was supposed to be even bigger when initially worth P250 million.
The UMA fears that giving funds to fascists rather than farmers will only put farmers in danger through attacks against peasant associations and agri-workers’ unions.
He also said that pesantes will be especially vulnerable to the loss of land in corporate plantations such as Dole Philippines (Dolefil).
P125-M OVP confidential funds would have benefited 8,300 farmers — groups
“Bukod sa amortisasyon, kawalan ng suporta sa produksyon ang isa sa mga susing dahilan bakit napipilitan ang maraming magsasaka na magsuko ng kontrol, kung hindi man pagmamay-ari, sa kanilang lupa sa malalaking panginoon at korporasyon,” added Casilao.
“Masakit pa, ang perang ipinagkait sa mga magsasaka ay ipinansusupil sa kanila… Kung hindi ito ibinulbulsa, ang confidential funds ay ipinantutustos sa gera kontra-insurhensya ng rehimeng US-Marcos pang-atake nito sa anakpawis.”
He said that if it is not looked into, it is also possible for the confidential funds to end up in the red-tagging of farmers and agri-worker’s unions. He also said the former Anakpawis lawmaker wants to know if the funds used to purchase safe houses were recently used to “abduct” activists Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro.
It was only in August when Duterte defended the proposed P150 million confidential funds under the Department of Education, something that she leads for 2024 — something that the agency is said to be able to use in anti-insurgency efforts.
The UMA is now calling for the illegalization of confidential funds and similar funds that can only be used for the National Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). Instead, it said it would be better if it could be spent on promoting domestic food security.
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