A Farmer's Murder

There is no way to express how grateful I am in words to people who bless and till the land so that we Filipinos have food on our table; in the same way that there is no word that can ever equal the cruelty of the armed men who ambushed a humble peasant leader, Ka Rene on his way home riding a motorcycle with two other relatives. I only know him from the news, how he marched 1700 kilometers with fellow farmers for two months to demand for justice and claim their rights and dignity. All they wanted was to ask for their 144 hectares of farming land in Sumilao, Bukidnon. As they say, "Ka Rene Penas was one of those farmers who boldly registered their disgust to the government for inefficient implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP)."

June 5, 2009, two days after the approval of CARP Extension with Reforms bill (HB 4077) by the House of Representative, Ka Rene was slain.

It is not enough for those people in power to encroach other people's land, they want to silence those who oppose them. While a lot of people sympathize with this loss, Ka Rene has won the fight for his fellows. His family and friends can now till their own lands.

The continuous rain all over the country will wash the blood that has tainted their lands, and when everything is over, the golden grains will spring again.

Blessed are the farmers who are bonafide patriots, the children of the land.

**for more information please visit:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/06/06/09/farmer-activist-slain...
http://sumilaomarch.multiply.com/
http://asianfarmers.org/?p=404
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/publications/A2JForum/profiles/PENAS.pdf