I don’t know if the Spanish government is playing a sick joke on us but it gave an undeserving award to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for defending human rights in the Philippines. In her acceptance speech, Arroyo enumerated her accomplishments in the protection and promotion of human rights, among them the signing of the international protocol against the use of children in armed conflict, the continuation of the Mindanao peace talks, the abolition of the death penalty, and the gradual solution of the extrajudicial killings of political activists and journalists.
Pardon me but is there anyone out there convicted for extrajudicial killing of activist and journalists? And what about those involuntary disappearances? The latest I heard is that the Deputy Solicitor General opposed the grant of the writ of amparo for UP students Cadapan and Empeño as the writ can be used by the enemy to view the layouts and armories of the military camps. At present, lumads in Surigao del Sur were forced to evacuate because of intensified military operations in Surigao del Sur. Just recently, even journalists are not spared from arrest on the pretext that they are obstructing justice to the police operations in the Manila Peninsula against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.
This award is a major setback of human rights advocates in the country. Philippine Onion poked fun at how the gold in Spain diminish its value after Arroyo received the award in this blog entry, Cebollas sin lagrimas:gold tumbles on ‘oro de medalla’ award to Arroyo
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Speaking about the Sumilao farmer’s case, it would be very doubtful if the property would be reverted back to agricultural uses given that San Miguel Corporation had already spent about 3 billion in investments in putting up the piggery farm. The Quisumbing estate was granted a conversion from the DAR to put up an agro industrial farm within 5 years from the grant. Instead, it sold the property 3 years after the grant to San Miguel for the operation of a piggery farm and not the Agro Industrial estate as provided in the order. Clearly, there was a violation of the conversion order. In this case, the property should revert back to agricultural use because of the violation of the conditions of the conversion order. However, the supposed non compliance of the Quisumbing estate of the provisions of the conversion had a legal remedy. San Miguel can file a petition for exemption from coverage of CARP using the argument that since the area is already reclassified as an industrial zone, it can never be covered under CARP and that is, pefectly legal in accordance with the agrarian laws. So, San Miguel can actually stop the coverage of the property despite the violations of the conditions of the conversion grant. This is the direction where this case will be going.
Anyone out there who wants to bet?
Anyway DAR’s political will to implement CARP will now be put to the test. The Filipino people is watching.
