Portraits of the Sumilao Marchers

Philippines is one of the countries that has the most problematic agrarian reform program. For over decades that this was implemented, lands that were supposed to be distributed to the farmers remain in the hands of the landlords. These landlords always find a way to circumvent the law. Most of them would guard their land with heavily armed men to keep the farmers away. While others would do tactics such as apply to convert their land into an industrial land despite it being categorized as prime agricultural land. This is the case of the Sumilao marchers.

The Sumilao marchers are these farmers from Sumilao, Bukidnon who walked from their town to the Malacanang Palace in Manila hoping to meet the president and ask her to revoke the conversion order that was issued to their land. Besides being a prime irrigated land which their ancestors had tilled for years, for them this land is holy. The Sumilao farmers belong to a tribe called Higaonon and this is where they conduct their rituals.

And so they they travelled on foot 1,700 kilometres for more than two months to regain this land that rightfully belongs to them.

Tribute to a Farmer-Leader

Here's a short video tribute for Reneto "Ka Rene" Penas that Ditsi Carolino and I made a few days after he was murdered. Ka Rene was the leader of the Sumilao farmers who walked from Mindanao to Manila to "reclaim" the land awarded to them thru the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

Pag-alala kay Ka Rene 1/2

Pag-alala kay Ka Rene 2/2

I first met Ka Rene when I assisted Ditsi in shooting their march while they were in the Bicol area. He was cheerful but a strict and disciplined leader and his enthusiasm was contagious. Despite often wearing a brief over his head (to sun-dry it) during the march, his co-farmers respected and followed his orders.

He was a funny man. I remember him - when I visited them at their camp in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform - telling me that he needed to go to Eunilane to buy some briefs. He said, while comically scratching his head, that his wife sent him his clothes from Bukidnon but she failed to include his underwears.

The last time I saw him was during the Red Carpet screening of Ditsi's film Lupang Hinarang. He asked me, as he always did everytime we met, why he no longer saw me in their protests. I told him I was helping in the editing of Lupang Hinarang. Then I asked, pointing to Diether Ocampo who was posing by the photo-op wall, if he already had pictures with the celebrities who were present. He said yes. I joked, "but not with me yet." And it was the last time I saw him laugh.

This video was shown during the vigil at the Dela Stradda Chapel along Katipunan Ave. and before the funeral march in Sumilao. The clips in the video are from Lem dela Cruz's footage of the Banasi farmer's march from Bicol to Manila which was also led by Ka Rene. Some are excerpts from Lupang Hinarang.