The Sumilao Farmers Case1

Introduction
This case illustrates the great challenges confronting agrarian reform implementation in the
Philippines. It also offers possibilities and affirms the importance of issue-based community
organizing2 and Active Non-Violence in confronting institutions and individuals toward
achieving favorable, significant, tangible and strategic social justice and people
empowerment objectives. Given its high social, political, environmental, and financial ROI, it
appeals to donor agencies, NGOs and POs to provide the necessary investment in human
and financial capital to community organizing work to speedily and meaningfully complete
the land distribution component of the reformed and extended Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program and other asset reform laws before the Aquino Administration ends.
163 landless farmers from a village, in Sumilao, Bukidnon, waged a dramatic 20-year
struggle to finally own their 144-hectare ancestral land. They conducted a variety of direct
action spanning 13 years. They launched three land occupation campaigns (1997, 2002,
2010), a series of camp-out for at least eight months in front of DAR-Regional office in
Cagayan de Oro (1998, 2008), DAR-Central office in Quezon City (1998), Supreme Court in
Manila (1998), and in front of SMC property in Sumilao (2010). They waged two monthlong hunger strikes (1997, 1998), blocked with their bodies a highway (1999), participated
in two nationwide jubilee walk-caravan pilgrimage (1999, 2009), and walked an
unprecedented 1,700 kilometers from Sumilao to Malacanang.
They aimed to get 144 hectares of their ancestral land but were eventually awarded with
211 hectares, not a bad outcome after-all. But more than that, they significantly contributed
in educating public opinion and generated virtual unanimous support (90% approval from
46% adult Filipinos) from those who learned about their case, catalyzed the mobilization of
hundreds of powerful civil society institutions and thousands of individuals nationwide and
abroad, and in the process contributed to the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Law for fifteen years, making it possible for more than three million landless farmers
to own the land they till, make them more productive, and secure the food for their families.
They got them all but not without a price. One of their active members, Ruben Lesion,
committed suicide in 1998, their Board of Directors were jailed in 1999, two of their
lawyers, Attys. Bobby Gana and Caloy Ollado, lost their lives in a plane crash en route to
meet them in 2002, their leader-organizer Renato Penas was assassinated in 2009.

By Raul Socrates C. Banzuela, PAKISAMA National Coordinator

Community Organizing is a collective, participatory, transformative, liberative, sustained and systematic process
of building peoples organizations by mobilizing and enhancing the capabilities and resources of the people for the
resolution of their issues and concerns towards effecting change in their existing and oppressive exploitative
conditions

I.

Background Information on the state of organizing in

the sector

Priority issues in the sector. Of the estimated 10 million farmers tilling around 15 million
hectares of private, and alienable and disposable land out of the total 30 million hectares of
Philippine territory, 85% of them, considered landless, were among the poorest in the
country. Landownership has been concentrated to a few hundred families mostly owing to
the colonial past and the utter control by local elites in the countrys political and economic
institutions. While other countries such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and more recently
Vietnam, and China succeeded in uplifting millions of poor peasants out of poverty through
massive and meaningful agrarian reform programs, the Philippines had a significant
agrarian reform program passed after the ratification of the 1987 Constitution, a product of
the 1986 People Power Revolution, its poverty alleviation goals remain illusive even to most
of its farmer beneficiaries.
Successes and challenges in the sector (since 1986). Considered loophole-ridden and
passed by a Congress with powerful big landlords influence, the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Law originally promised to distribute 10.3 million hectares of agricultural land
through its two major agencies: the Department of Agrarian Reform taking care of
distributing the private lands and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources,
the public lands. As of 2009, some seven million hectares were reportedly been distributed
to 4.7 million farmers. Some 1.6 million hectares remain to be distributed in 2010- 2014,
over a million of which were the largest landholdings owned by the most powerful
individuals and institutions in the country. More than 80% of those who got land were not
able to access government support services, forcing some 26% of them to mortgage their
acquired landholdings. Various impact assessment studies conducted since 2000 revealed
generally a positive picture endorsing the merits of agrarian reform even given its
limitations. Where farmers got land, they were able to increase their income, send their
children to school, and lessen insurgency incidents.
State of organizing in the sector. Of the 4.7 million farmers reported by the Department
of Agrarian Reform as beneficiaries, less than ten percent belong to organized agrarian
reform community associations and cooperatives. This is the main reason why most
agrarian reform beneficiaries are not able to access government services. Without viable
organizations, Land Bank of the Philippines is reluctant to give production and marketing
loans, Department of Agriculture could not provide the necessary extension services, the
National Irrigation Authority would not be able to invest in irrigation canals and systems and
hope to recoup its investments, the Department of Agrarian Reform would not be able to
distribute lands especially when the landowner is demonstrating resistance.
Understanding the limits of government, civil society organizations in the late 80s and early
nineties experimented in deploying community organizers in agrarian reform communities.
PhilDHRRA spearheaded the Tripartite Partnership for Agrarian Reform and Rural
Development (TriPARRD) Program and assembled a respectable team of agrarian reform
advocates from the academe, the DAR, the NGO, and PAKISAMA to act as Technical
Committee and Advisory Committee members. Soon, in partnership with the DAR, it
deployed 24 Community organizers from 13 NGOs/POs in 28 prototype communities in
Antique, Bukidnon, and Camarines Sur. At that time, it was the largest intervention of the
broad NGOs and POs to help speed up and make meaningful the actual implementation of

agrarian reform. The main investment was Community Organizing assisted by Provincial
and National Coordination and Technical Committee work.
In 1993, the Philippine Agrarian Reform Foundation (PARFUND) was set up and was able to
fund scores of NGOs and POs in their community organizing work in selected agrarian
reform communities nationwide in 1995-1998. Most of its fund coming from Ford
Foundation, Misereor, CordAid and Trocaire were used to fund the salaries and travel of
community organizers and the actual land campaigns themselves, such as land occupation
and hunger strike. The Sumilao farmers were one of the major recipients of PARFUND
assistance.
The same funding facilities plus ICCO funded also their partners in the country such as
Peace Foundation, Kaisahan, BMFI, etc which synergized the agrarian reform campaigns in
the 90s and 2000. National farmers federations then focused on agrarian reform
implementation were revolving around two major groupings: the ARNOW 3! and PARRDS4
networks. Task Force Mapalad (TFM), whose name was inspired by the MAPALAD MPC
hunger strike in 1997, became a major land campaigner in the country covering a hundred
haciendas in Negros Occidental and in other provinces in late 90s to the present.
TFM, UNORKA, KATARUNGAN, PKSK, MAKABAYAN, PARAGOS-Pilipinas, and PAKISAMA
joined forces with the support of their respective NGO allies and the Church in the campaign
for the passage of RA 9700 or CARPER. All of these organizations are known, up to this date
as the major community organizing centers focused on agrarian reform implementation.
But the state of organizing of agrarian farmers is at best worrisome. Most donor agencies
which used to fund community organizing around asset reform implementation particularly,
the speedy land distribution for small farmers have ceased funding and/or are channeling
their funds elsewhere or in other programs such as social enterprises. PARFUND itself had
ceased to be a major funder of the broad agrarian reform movement. And most of the NGOs
that were earlier funded by PARFUND have also now very limited involvement, if any, in
agrarian reform communities. Given their grant portfolio, major funding facilities owned and
managed by Filipinos such as Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF), Foundation for Philippine
Environment (FPE), and the Foundation for Sustainable Societies, Inc (FSSI), have been
largely irrelevant in assisting community to develop capacity in speeding up the
implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. They prioritized micro
finance (PEF), protected areas (FPE), and social enterprises (FSSI). During the Garilao
administration the Department of Agrarian Reforms attempt in 1994-95 to fund community
organizing around land tenure improvement was cut short due to intervention of certain
politicians. While billions of ODA money has been poured in ARC development, perhaps
avoiding political controversies, they have not funded community organizing around LTI and
focused more on support services delivery.
Unless the above situation is reversed, based on the past experiences especially illustrated
by the succeeding Sumilao case, it is almost impossible to finish the distribution of the
remaining private landholdings by 2014 under the CARPER law.

The network then included PhilDHRRA, PDAP, ICSI, UNAC, BMFI, SALIGAN, BALAOD-Mindanao assisting
PAKISAMA, the only national federation member.
4
Includes ONORKA and PKSK federations assisted by Peace Foundation, CARET, PDI, Kaisahan.

II. Background Information on the Organizing

Institutions
Community organizing in Sumilao, Bukidnon has involved directly four institutions, namely:
Kaanib Foundation, PAKISAMA, BMFI and BALAOD.
Kaanib Foundation Organizing Program. In the 1980s two young graduates of Xavier
University in Cagayan de Oro, a Jesuit agricultural university, set up Kaanib Foundation, and
started organizing farmers in the towns of Impasug-ong ang Sumilao. The couple, Luisito
Totong Uy and Joan Cua Uy, were involved immediately in campaigning against the
expansion of areas covered by del Monte Pineapple Corporation. Soon, they sent community
organizer Alex Martinez in San Vicente, Sumilao, Bukidnon and the MAPALAD Multipurpose
Cooperative was born. When the People Power Revolution produced a Constitution which
birthed the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program in June 1988, it was seen as
opportune time for the MAPALAD Multipurpose Cooperative members to consider getting
back their ancestral land. When, agrarian reform was instituted, KAANIB Foundation, a
member of PhilDHRRA, got the Mapalad Multipurpose cooperative involved. The foundation
has continued assisting the Sumilao farmers until this time. In partnership with PAKISAMA
and Catholic Relief Services, it now focuses its assistance in linking the Sumilao farmers to
market.
PAKISAMA. PAKISAMA, as a national confederation of peasant organizations catalyzed by
PhilDHRRA in 1986 to pursue agrarian reform and rural development was among the
initiators of the TriPARRD Program in Bukidnon and, together with PhilDHRRA, helped form
the provincial farmers federation PALAMBU. PAKISAMA eventually became a national
campaign center, with other ARNow! Members, for the Sumilao struggle including providing
financial support to community organizing work in the community. It deployed young Xavier
University graduate Elginito during the last part of the land campaign and now has two full
time community organizers in the area. Para-legal-organizer Maya takes care of production
and marketing cluster organizing and human rights concerns and Peter Gutierez takes care
of capacity building of PANAW-Sumilao Cooperative and coordination of support institutions
involved in assisting the Cooperative to succeed in making the Sumilao land to become
more productive and ensure market for and value-addition of farmers products.
BMFI-BALAOD Mindanao. Balay Mindanao Foundation, Inc. (BMFI), an NGO set up by
Carlito Manlupig, a former PhilDHRRA Mindanao Coordinator, and friends in early 90s
deployed professional community organizer Felix Vergara in the area especially during the
hunger strike in 1997. BALAOD Mindanao, a former member of BMFI group of NGOs and led
by the lawyer-community organizer Arlene Kaka Bag-ao, has provided guidance to CO
work in the community since 1997 and deployed paralegal-organizers Frank Atilo and
professional community organizer Carlito Gallego, Jr. especially during the unprecedented
WALK to Malacanang Palace in 2007 and trained several leaders of the Sumilao farmers and
PALAMBU on paralegalism, most prominent among them was Renato Penas, their martyred
leader. BMFI and BALAOD Mindanao have continued to assist the Sumilao farmers, the
former focusing on enterprise development, while the latter on legal and human rights
matters.

The key community organizing objectives in the Sumilao campaign were to win the
contested 144 hectares for the Sumilao farmers and help legislate the extension (1997) and
reform (2007) of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law.

III. Background information on the community

San Vicente is a 845-hectare agricultural barangay, in the municipality of Sumilao,
Bukidnon, the smallest of the ten barangays comprising the municipality. Home to some
500 families, the barangay used to be the center of government of the Higaonon people of
Bukidnon. But over the years, the Higaonons were slowly pushed to the margins, finally
displaced of their ancestral lands. After the Magsaysays program of putting Mindanao as
the migration frontier for the population of Luzon and Visayas, several enterprising people
from Ilocos and later Cebu migrated to/invested in Sumilao. Among the most prominent of
them was the family of the Baulas. It was told that with sardines and other goodies, the
Baula patriarch was able to acquire vast lands in Sumilao. Another person was Carlos from
Manila who got some 99 hectares and another one was Ilagan and then Angeles who later
sold to the Quisumbings of Cebu the 144 hectares along the Sayre Highway.
Multinational corporations such as del Monte and Dole have been quite prominent figures in
the landscape of Bukidnonowning or leasing thousands of hectares planted to pineapples.
Bukidnon, as its name implies, is largely a mountain with a cool temperature almost akin to
that of Baguio, making it a good target not only for residential but more importantly for big
agriculture ventures. In 2002, three migrants arrived in Bukidnon daily and Sumilao had
the fastest growing population among the municipalities of Bukidnon. Unlike provinces in
Luzon and Visayas, Bukidnon is not visited by typhoons and the large track of government
land made it very enticing to big agribusiness interests. Titling the land was not in the
culture of indigenous Higaonons. Soon the well-educated settlers from Luzon and Visayas
showed them their acquired land titles effectively dispossessing them. The agribusinesses
the pineapple plantations of DOLE, the coffee plantation of San Miguel Corporation, the
Mango plantation of the Carloss hired the services of the now landless indigenous peoples
and other settlers as farmworkers.
It was not only well-educated, enterprising Luzon/Visayas settlers came. Enterprising and
adventurous landless farmers from Luzon and Visayas in search for land came to settle in
Sumilao. One of them was a young man named Renato Penas who later married a Higaonon
lass and settled in barangay San Vicente, Sumilao. He remained a landless farmworker of
several plantations in the area and found other jobs like transforming the tiger grass up the
mountains into brooms and sold them locally. Rene together with many other poor settlers
and Higanonons built their houses by the Highway. They considered themselves squatters of
government land and at the back of their mind, one day the government would bulldoze
their houses in favor of a road widening project. Some other landowners/owner cultivators
in the barangay of San Vicente planted corn and would invite the landless farmworkers to
join them in planting, weeding, and harvesting for meager day wage.

IV.

The Community Organizing Process

The Sumilao farmers as CARP applicants

In 1990, 137 landless farmers from San Vicente, mostly members of Mapalad Multi-purpose
Cooperative, applied to become beneficiaries of the 144-hectare Quisumbing Estate being
acquired by the Department of Agrarian Reform under the Compulsory Acquisition scheme.
The Cebu-based industrialist land-owner and known to have broad national connections,
refused to budge and proposed instead to government a BAIDA project: Bukidnon AgroIndustrial Development Authority, a project that would transform the property into
residential, golf-course, agro-processing area and ostensibly create thousands of jobs. It
was not hard for the Quisumbings to get the support of Mayor Rey Baula and Governor
Fortich, also a big landowner/rancher, to endorse the re-classification of the contested
property into industrial, thus, the case went up the Office of the Secretary of the
Department of Agrarian Reform.
But the leadership of the Garilao Administration then at the DAR, composed mostly of NGO
leaders, refused to give in to the pressures from LAKAS politicians and said no to the land
conversion application of the Quisumbings. In 1995, DAR issued the Certificate of Land
ownership Award to 137 landless farmers of San Vicente. The Quisumbings appealed to the
Office of Secretary, of then Ruben Torres, who happened to be the Law firm partner of
another Quisumbing, a cousin of landowner Norberto Quisumbing. Ruben Torres granted the
appeal of the Quisumbings and soon enough they filed a case against the new land-owners.
Land Occupation
Surprised by the law suit and that in fact they already were awarded a title of the property,
the 137 farmer-beneficiaries and their families occupied the property on July 14-17, 1997
with the combined support of PALAMBU5-PAKISAMA and TriPARRD partner NGOs and the
5

Supporters of the MAPALAD farmers included then the PALAMBU and PAKISAMA. PALAMBU was the provincial
federation of agrarian reform beneficiaries organized by the TriPARRD Program and had been affiliated to the
national confederation, PAKISAMA. The TriPARRD Program then had already forged partnership with Balay
Mindanao Foundation, Inc. which had a paralegal program run by a subsidiary NGO, the BALAOD Mindanao.
Trained paralegals would assist land claimants organize themselves and push the government to implement the law
faster and meaningfully. The original 11 agrarian reform beneficiary organizations of the TriPARRD program grew
to around 33 Farmer Organizations and PALAMBU became the largest federation of agrarian reform
claimants/beneficiaries in Bukidnon. Its strength was earlier tested in the successful campaign for the PAICOR
Estate in ---Bukidnon. The 111-hectare casava plantation was compulsory acquired by the government and
distributed to 111 farmers but Phil Agro Industrial Corporation refused to obey the law and deployed blue guards in
its landholdings to scare away the awarded agrarian reform beneficiaries.
In 1993, a well-coordinated land occupation/installation campaign plan was later on executed successfully through
the collaboration among all the agrarian reform beneficiaries in the contested land and the entire PALAMBU
members who mobilized and conducted its 3-day federation assembly in the newly acquired property. The ten blue
guards were not able to scare away two hundred well-prepared farmers, with their bolos, bamboos and nails,
simultaneously and quickly marching from different directions and speedily erecting the bamboo fences and
mounting placards, in different parts of the property NO TRESSPASSING: XALFABO Property! It was also a full
mobilization of eight community organizers of the TriPARRD program, their respective NGO leaders and contacts in
the Church and Xavier University. A mass was led by Fr. Antonio Ledesma, S.J., inside the occupied landholding.
When the local police, influenced by the company, was about to move to disperse them, a Major from the

Church. Challenged, the Quisumbings mobilized around 60 armed security guards from
Tagbagani agency led by the RAM- leader Colonel Noble. With rampaging carabaos and
staccato sound of shotguns, the farmers, fearing for their families, succumbed and
eventually left their occupied land.
Hunger Strike and Victory
Overwhelmed by the brute force displayed by the Quisumbing security guards, some of
them hooded, the farmers, however, did not feel helpless. Peter Tuminghay, the MAPALAD
MPC President recommended instead a hunger strike as the next move of the farmers. Nong
Peter in the early nineties attended a trainers training course on active non-violence
conducted by PAKISAMA for its members. PAKISAMA then had a systematic political
education program and Active Non-violence was part of the curriculum. Nong Peter
prevailed. On October 9, 1997, nine months before the expiration date of the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, 17 farmers started to wage a hunger strike
campaign in Cagayan de Oro City and in front of the DAR Central Office in Quezon City.
The hunger strike lasted 28 days and caught broad national and even international
attention, polarizing Philippine society. Various powerful institutions and individuals
eventually weighed in, favoring the farmers. Nearing the 1998 national elections, almost all
Presidential and Vice-Presidential wannabees visited the hunger strikers in their makeshift
tents in front of the DAR Central Office. Likewise, Cardinal Sin, and hundreds of priests,
nuns, students, NGO workers, PO leaders, and ordinary people visited the ailing hunger
strikers, transforming in the process the entire frontage of the DAR Central Office as a
University of Agrarian Reform6, where lectures on the case and the importance of agrarian
reform were discussed. All these days, Kaka Bag-ao, the lawyer-community organizer who
was with the Sumilao farmers was conducting the tactic sessions aided by PAKISAMA and
PhilDHRRA organizers: Ben Luther Lucas and Telay Gaban7, respectively. The tactic sessions
happened in two camps, one in front of the DAR Central Office and the other happened in
different sites, usually office of one of the ARNow!s members and usually would last til 2
A.M. The focus of the tactic sessions was how to continue to get media attention.
The Ramos Administration created a Task Force led by DA Secretary Salvador Escudero and
involving the Sumilao campaign group to study a possible resolution to the case. A meeting
was held between the President, some Cabinet officials, Governor Fortich and the hunger
striking farmers in Malacanang. On November 5, 1997, President Ramos declared 100
hectares to be awarded to the Sumilao farmers and 44 hectares near the Highway would be
classified industrial and would be retained by the Quisumbings. The farmers, though would
intelligence community stopped and told them not to interfere as the Agrarian Reform Law was just being
implemented. The Regional Director then of the Department of Agrarian Reform in Region 10 was Carlito Manlupig,
previously PhilDHRRA Mindanao Coordinator. He mobilized his contacts in the bureaucracy and the military to
support the combined forces of farmers organizations, NGOs, Churches, media, and academe.
It was the same group that launched the July 14-17 land occupation campaign in support of the Sumilao farmerclaimants. But this time, the landowners have learned their lesson. They agreed that the 1993 land occupation in
PAICOR should not be allowed to be repeated. They supported the setting up of the Tagbagani Security Agency led
by Colonel Noble. After three days of land occupation, overwhelming force drove the Sumilao farmers away. The
armed force of the Philippines and the police were nowhere in sight to assist the farmers. Carlito Manlupig, this
time, had left the Department of Agrarian Reform and had set up Balay Mindanao Foundation, Inc. who partnered
with KAANIB Foundation in assisting the MAPALAD Farmers in their claim to the Quisumbing landholding.
6

Three similarly situated farmer groups, all victims of Ruben Torres land conversion decisions in the Office of the
President, camped side by side with the Sumilao farmers, asking some attention too from the authorities.
7

later on became PhilCOS National Coordinator,

be receiving less than a hectare each and the landowner would be retaining 44 hectares
way beyond the 5-hectare retention limit, accepted the compromise. The farmers and
support groups held a big victory mass that night led by two Jesuit Bishops Francisco
Claver, S.J., and Antonio Ledesma, S.J. and a concert led by support NGOs including PRRM8.
Jubilant, the farmers came back to Cagayan de Oro City on heroes welcome and caravan
and food and dancing.
Tragedy and Reversal. But days and months passed, no order of installation was issued by
the DAR and the fence remained electrified and well-guarded. The farmers went back to the
street, in front of the Regional Office of DAR, padlocking it to symbolize its protest against
DARs lack of political will. Meanwhile, the Quisumbings filed a Motion for Reconsideration in
the Supreme Court.
On February 2, 1998, Attorneys Bobby Gana and Caloy Ollado, took a Cebu Pacific flight to
Cagayan de Oro from Manila to strategize with the Sumilao farmers on the next moves to
take given the elevation of the case to the Supreme Court. The plane did not touch down
and crashed in Mount Sumagaya killing all 104 passengers. It was a tragedy mourned by
the nation especially those who loved these two great lawyers who accompanied the
Sumilao farmers from day 1 of the Hunger Strike and organized the most formidable
lawyers team in the history of agrarian reform involving no less than the Integrated Bar of
the Philippines, Alternative Law Groups, the Ateneo and UP Law Schools, and former
COMELEC Chair and agrarian reform advocate Atty Christian Monsod and Constitutionalist
Fr. Joaquin Bernas, S.J.
The Supreme Courts second division reversed Ramos decision on a technicality i.e., the
delayed filing of Motion for Reconsideration by the DAR re. Torres land conversion decision,
and returned to the Quisumbing the 100 hectares already awarded to the Sumilao farmers.
Hunger Strike 2 vs Erap
The farmers went back to the DAR Central Office and camped on June 1998, asking the
President-elect Joseph Estrada for help, who, in front of 34 local and international news
agencies, ate lunch with the Sumilao farmers in their camp and declared the policy of nonconversion of irrigated and irrigable lands and the immediate action by the Office of the
President to make representations to the Supreme Court for a speedy favorable decision on
the case. But no such representation was reported and four months later, on October 1998,
the Sumilao farmers again resorted to a hunger strike to demand the President not to
renege on his promise. President Estrada met with the farmers, the second time they set
foot in Malacanang. The President, arriving an hour late, told the farmers to go to the
Supreme Court themselves because he could not do anything anymore on their case.
Camp Out in SC
Shocked and dis-appointed, the farmers followed the Presidents advice and camped in front
of the Supreme Court for several months, perhaps the longest camping of a group
witnessed in front of a Supreme Court. President Estrada, in fact, did something. He
appointed to the Supreme Court Justice Consuelo Ynarez-Santiago and Hilario Davide Jr as
Justice and Chief Justice, respectively. In no time Ynarez-Santiago voted with Justice
Mendoza quashing all the series of Motions for Reconsideration filed by the Sumilao farmers
and their lawyers. The dissenting opinions of Justices Melo and Puno---could have been
enough, given a 2-2 Second Division vote, to merit an en-banc hearing but Chief Justice
8

It caused a big traffic jam in Quezon City Circle.

Davide would not oblige. It was incomprehensible given Chief Justice Davides stature of
integrity during this time. Was the membership of a Justice Quisumbing, a fellow Cebuano,
in the Supreme Court a factor? One could only speculate. On August 1999 a final and
executory decision was rendered by the Supreme Court affirming the earlier decision of
giving back the 100 hectares to the Quisumbings.
Suicide, Hi-way Protest and Jail.
Ruben Lesion (20), only son, and one of the 137 beneficiaries, in protest of the Supreme
Court decision or perhaps in utter desperation, ingested poison and died in a hospital 20
days later. It caught public attention to merit an editorial of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. A
few days after the entire Sumilao farmers-claimants and their families registered their
disgust over the Supreme Court ruling by blocking the Sayre Highway with their bodies
causing a 3-kilometer traffic jam. A case was filed against them, and on the eve of the 40day nationwide Jubilee March Against Hunger Campaign which would start on May 5 in
Davao City and would be led by two leaders of the Sumilao farmers: Rene Penas and Linda
Ligmon, all the Board of Directors of MAPALAD MPC were arrested and imprisoned at the
Sumilao Municipal Jail.
Hoping againsthope. That was almost the end of the case. Hope was thin, but there was
hope: a provision in the Guidelines on Land Conversion saying, about the need to develop in
five years a converted land otherwise it would revert to agricultural and again be subjected
to agrarian reform. By August of 2004, the property should have been developed according
to the approved conversion plan.
The Struggle for the Carlos Estate
During this period of waiting, the Sumilao farmers engaged the Estrada government in the
implementation of Agrarian reform, now this time, in an adjacent property, the 99-hectare
Salvador Carlos estate. Unlike the Quisumbings, the Carloses, offered the land voluntarily
for sale and on deathbed, Salvador Carlos, wished that the land be awarded to the Sumilao
farmers. It happened that the Carloses somehow had a son who was a Jesuit Volunteer and
a friend of Sr. Victoria Pascasio, SpS, an avid supporter of the Sumilao farmers. Eventually,
the farmers got 19 hectares of land under the Erap Administration and another 44 hectares
in 2002, under the newly-installed Arroyo Administration. These seemed simple enough, but
they were able to acquire these lands only after a series of mobilizations and in the last
instance another land occupation event. The former lawyer of the Carloses refused to
cooperate and installed his own people in the property. The DAR eventually gave this lawyer
and his farmers 19 hectares, and the 17 hectares remaining became the retention area for
the Carloses which eventually was leased to La Pandays pineapple plantation.
The guideline violation. Meanwhile, the Quisumbings, with the help of Governor Zubiri, were
negotiating and eventually inked a sale of the contested 144-hectare to San Miguel
Corporation. SMC planned to build a state of the art hog business in the area which would
involve the construction of various buildings to house the hybrid and imported hogs. But, to
the mistake of SMC, nothing was built in the property by August 2004, the month the 5year development period, lapsed. The land remained idle and no golf course, nor residential
houses, nor agri-processing plant nor a high school building could be seen in the area. The
DAR regional office reported its findings to the National office that indeed, there was a clear
violation of the Land Conversion Guidelines.

The Struggle for 144 hectares continues

The Sumilao farmers in November 2004 sent a resolution to Secretary Pangandaman of
DAR, an Arroyo appointee, to immediately implement the Administrative Order on land
conversion violations. It must be noted that a few months back, there was already serious
accusations of wholesale cheating in the May elections, and the legitimacy of the Arroyo
presidency was being put into question. Secretary Nasser Pangandaman answered the
Resolution of the farmers only after two years saying that it had no jurisdiction over the
case since it was the Office of the Executive Secretary which made the earlier decision.
Angered, according to the CARP, DAR is the sole authority on land conversion cases, the
farmers went anyway and filed the demand to the Office of the Executive Secretary on
February 2007.
CARP Ending. In 2007, less than a year before the end the first ten year extension of the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, more than two million hectares of land still
needed to be distributed, most of them are prime and irrigated lands situated in the
lowlands owned by powerful landowners. Majority in both houses of Congress, largely
because of strong landowners influence, were not keen on passing a new law extending and
putting budget to CARP. The big landlord bloc was led no less by the brother in-law of the
President. The Presidents family has successfully prevailed over the coverage and
distribution of its hundreds of hectares of sugar lands. Big business attitude on land reform
was largely negative. Except for a small but dedicated and competent group, most NGOs
and federations of farmers organizations were fragmented and weak and most were not in
the advocacy for agrarian reform. There was very limited media coverage and students and
schools were largely uninformed about agrarian reform issues. The most powerful institution
such as the Roman Catholic Church was largely silent. Given these context, it was almost
impossible to pass a legislation to extend much more introduce reforms to the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform,
Without a new legislation extending and introducing reforms in the agrarian reform law
means at least a million landless farmer-families (or 7 million individuals) would have no
more hope to acquire an asset that would secure their access to food. Most of those who
already got land (3 million farmer-families or 21 million individuals) may eventually give up
farming and sell or lease their landholdings to big agribusiness corporations or individuals
and therefore frustrate the equity, productivity, and sustainability goals of the agrarian
reform program. Eventually, it can be expected the number of food insecure and
malnourished children/population will increase and the current social conflict and armed
insurgency will intensify.
PAKISAMA and the Campaign Machinery. By this time, PAKISAMA having just succeeded to
re-unite as a confederation after a 3-year serious organizational split, elected a new set of
officers and was in the process of organizational re-building. It had just mobilized its vast
social network in the NGO-PO community, the Churches, the academe and the media,
lending support to the hunger strike campaign of the Cuenca farmers from Negros
Occidental assisted by Task Force MAPALAD.9
9

TFM, whose name was inspired by the MAPALAD MPC hunger strike in 1997, and whose founders and leaders were former PAKISAMA staff,
had become the most prominent land campaigners in the country covering a hundred of haciendas in Negros Occidental and in other provinces.
Supported by PARFUND Chair Christian Monsod and PARDUND Executive Director and former DAR Undersecretary of Operations Noel Olano,
TFM under the leadership of a veteran community organizer Atty. Manding Jarilla was able to challenge the continuous hold of big landowners
over their haciendas and had won several landholdings in favor of the farmers. The Cuenca farmers surpassed by one day the hunger strike
waged by the Sumilao farmers in 1997, given a very adamant and even violent landowner, eventually won ___hectares of land. With this
hunger strike, agrarian reform had started to catch national attention again. This was very significant since the CARP would be ending in around
a year in May 2008, and a new legislation had to be passed to complete the distribution of some 1.3 million hectares of private land, most of

PAKISAMAs Chair Renato Penas updated PAKISAMA on the Sumilao case and by May 2007.
PAKISAMA prepared a proposal and got a 20,000 USD campaign fund from the International
Land Coalition. The succeeding months saw the rapid organization of the campaign
machinery. Using the catalytic grant from ILC, Balaod Mindanao led by a lawyer-community
organizer Atty Kaka Bag-ao deployed two community organizers in Sumilao: Jun Gallego
and Frank Atilo, to assist in the coming together of the MAPALAD MPC and the newlyorganized (by Rene Penas)- young farmers organization, the San Vicente Landless Farmers
Association, (SALFA); formed the Lawyers Team and facilitated the Campaign Planning in
July.
The Walk
Planning. The 1,700-km Walk for Land, Walk for Justice was conceived in a meeting held
in Balay Mindanao Foundation, Inc Peace Center on July. After the Sumilao leaders
brainstormed and traced its history of direct action, asked the question what action would
be compelling enough to catch public attention to the case? Noting it was able to succeed in
a hunger strike and a 40-day jubilee pilgrimage with leaders walking and doing a caravan,
the idea just came and erupted: Lets walk all the way from San Vicente to Malacanang. If
nothing happened in the walk, they will stage another hunger strike. Those present, had the
strong feeling the walk would tick. Among those present were Rene Penas, Peter Tuminhay,
Yoyong Merida, Toto Merida, Linda Ligmon, Hilda Sang-ahan and other women leaders,
Crispin Aguelo and Soc Banzuela of PAKISAMA, and Kaka Bag-ao and Balaod/BMFI staff.
Immediately, the general route was decided and the duration was estimated. The target
start date: October 9, 2007, tenth anniversary of the 1997 historic hunger strike. Target
destination Malacanang on December 10, 2007, International Human Rights Day.
There were hesitations among some support institutions and individuals who were not
present when the decision was reached, given the logistical requirements of the campaign.
PAKISAMA leadership and the Sumilao leader Rene Penas declared it was the most
opportune time and confident that they would be able to raise the funds along the way
given the Sumilao farmers vast social capital built over the years. Balaod Mindanao joined
the Sumilao farmers and PAKISAMA and eventually convinced the rest of ARNow! and other
support institutions.
Organizing the Marchers. With the help of a leader-organizer10 of MAPALAD, the landless
claimants of San Vicente was formed in the first semester of 2007 into another organization
called the San Vicente Landless Farmers Association (SALFA) to complement the existing
78-member MAPALAD MPC which successfully got a 66-hectare land in the adjacent
property. With the campaign to reclaim the 144-hectare property decided, Balaod-Mindanao
deployed two community organizers (COs) in the community under the guidance of no less
than the lawyer-community organizer/Executive Director of the institution, Atty. Kaka Bagao. A couple of general assemblies were held after a series of small group meetings and
one-on-one discussions among the members of the community. Seminar on paralegalism
and the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform law was conducted in the community.

these were the largest landholdings in the country controlled by the most powerful families and institutions and had succeeded to evade from
CARP coverage over the past two decades. The Reform CARP Movement and the CARPER movement composed of various POs and NGOs
involved in agrarian reform campaigns, coming from the ARNow! And PARRDS networks, were convened in June and was in the process of
finalizing the legislation draft by the ALG lawyers aimed to extend by five years and introduce reforms to the existing CARLaw.
10

Rene Peas (Chair of PAKISAMA, trained local co and para-legal officer), Yoyong Merida (young leader of
SALFA), and Danny Buclasan

The Volunteer Marchers. Fifty farmers, one third women, were finally considered
manageable but at the same time enough to call public attention. They underwent medical
tests and an input on active non-violence was facilitated by Jean Llorin of AKKAPKA (Action
for Peace and Justice, a center and movement for active non-violence) before they started
their march on October 10. Five more farmers insisted and joined the marchers when it
started, reaching to 55 the total number of marchers.
Five calls were agreed but prominent among them were the revocation by the President of
the earlier land conversion order and the passage of CARPER bill. Before marching to
Manila, the Sumilao Farmers initiated a dialogue with DAR Region X Director John Maruhom
and Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer Jun Celestiano, which fortified the decision of the
Sumilao farmers to launch a campaign to get the President to act on the case. 11
A community organizer from Balaod-Mindanao was assigned in the community12 who
focused on organizing three sub-groups which ensured raising the necessary food, medicine,
and organizing guards to provide security for the families left by the marchers. The other
one13 worked with three MAPALAD-SALFA local COs and accompanied the 55 farmers and
engaged the marchers on a daily basis in tactic sessions with the assistance of campaign
coordinator lawyer Kaka Bag-ao. The marchers were organized in various cells to take care
of various activities such as food preparation and distribution, marshalling and leaflets
distribution, tents and housekeeping. They took turns in speaking in public and shouting the
chants in Cebuano: 144, ipamahagi! Kaya pa ba ang Malacanang? Kaya!.
Formation of campaign centers in Cagayan/ Bukidnon and Manila. Campaign headquarters
were set up both in Cagayan de Oro and in Manila. The headquarters coordinated all
activities relative to the campaign. The core group for the campaign in Cagayan de Oro was
composed of BALAOD Mindanaw and PAKISAMA-Mindanaw. The campaign in Manila was
coordinated by AR Now!, PAKISAMA, PhilDHRRA, PESANTEch (SALIGAN, KAISAHAN,
BALAOD-Mindanaw), Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan and Akbayan. The route was detailed
and groundwork with the partner NGOs, POs, social action centers, schools, were done,
deploying Balaod and BMFI staff in the process. PAKISAMA, BALAOD, and KAISAHAN jointly
did the groundwork for Visayas with Kaisahan as the focal point, and PAKISAMA took the
lead role in preparing the Luzon route and ARNow! took care of the NCR route.
Organizing Legal and Paralegal Support. PAKISAMA tapped and coordinated well with
BALAOD-Mindanao, Saligan, and Kaisahan lawyers (six of them)14 which built the case on a
technicality15. There was a clear violation of the land conversion rules and the earlier
conversion order of the 144-hectare property could be revoked and the land could then be
distributed to the Sumilao farmers. Likewise, given the immense power and influence of the
11

It was only learned during the dialogue that the DAR Region has already come up with an Ocular Inspection Report which states that no single
development took place at the subject area five years after issuing the land conversion order. However, the said report has not been followed up
since it was submitted to DAR Central Office in 2004. Clearly, this was a manifestation that the DAR Region didnt recognize the urgency of the
case to be resolved. When asked to revoke the Land Conversion Order, Regional Director Maruhom said that DAR Region has no jurisdiction
over the case since the decision should be made by the Office of the President. However, he promised that as soon as the Office of the President
revokes the Conversion Order, he would immediately issue a Notice of Coverage.
12

Frank Atilo
Jun Gallego
14
Marlon Manuel and Aison Garcia (SALIGAN), Regie de la Cruz and __ (Kaisahan), (Kaka Bag-ao, Atty Noime
Batula)
15
With the Law of Karma seemed to be at work, the Sumilao farmers lost the case in 1999 on a technicality. Now,
they would be winning the case also on a technicality.
13

former landowner and the new landowner (San Miguel Corporation) who bought the
property in 2002, the farmers could only hope to get back their land if they waged a
national campaign and were able to get the support of key institutions of civil society
especially the broad network of NGOs/POs, schools, media and the Roman Catholic Church
enough to put pressure to the President to enforce the law. (Please see Annex 1: Position
Paper) The lawyers prepared the pleadings and other related legal documents. Atty. Kaka
and the CO-paralegal Ka Rene Penas, provided the in-house legal support to the march from
start to the finish. Chris Monsod, former COMELEC Chair and current PARFUND Chair,
provided high-level legal support to the farmers, negotiating with the Church, government,
and SMC leaders.
Organizing Support groups and Alliances Along the Route. PAKISAMA in no time got the
support of the ARNOW! members, the CODE-NGO Board, the Philippine Misereor Partners,
Oxfam partners, and fellow farmers federations and support NGOs in the Reform the CARP
Movement and the CARPER movement16, and the various institutions in Ateneo de Manila
University especially the OSCI and Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan. A story can be told about
the Sumilao Six17, a group of Development Studies students who heard about the case in a
community development and social change class and volunteered in mobilizing the support
of the Ateneo community. Amidst, final exams, they produced 5,000 flyers and inserted
them in the school paper, launched a website: Sumilaomarch.multiply.com and a petition
online addressed to President GMA and raised funds to buy the farmers sleepers. These
activities of the six volunteers were enough to catch the attention of the entire Ateneo
community especially OSCI and SLB who later on took the lead in mobilizing support from
the Ateneo and eventually the 1,200-member Catholic Educators Association of the
Philippines, MAPSA, the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines, and the
Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines18 especially Cardinal Rosales and Bishop
Broderlick Pabillo.
PAKISAMA also talked with and informed the leadership of the DAR about the campaign.
Peter Tuminhay and Linda Ligmon came earlier to launch the campaign on November 9 in a
press conference.
The Sumilao farmers eventually gained overwhelming support from around three hundred
Church19, POs, NGOs20, schools21 , media22, and even government agencies23 with some
16

PAKISAMA attended meetings with ARNow! Kilos AR and the Reform CARP Movement (RCM), the broadest
coalition of NGOs and POs pushing for the passage into law of HB 1257, the bill that ensures the extension of CARP
funding beyond June 2008 and the introduction of reforms to ensure CARPs land distribution component gets
completed in seven years. PAKISAMA mobilized 50 members and joined other members of RCM when HB 1257 was
filed. It also attended two hearings in the House committee, with the latter hearing discussing the Sumilao issue
and joined in meetings with several Senators chiefs of staff to discuss the bill.
17

Ivy, Kiwee, Omi,

18

PAKISAMA joined the preparatory activities of the Church-led regional conferences on rural poverty that would
culminate in a national conference consolidating position and strategies of the influential Roman Catholic Church
and its constituency in dealing rural poverty and landlessness.
19

The Church led by archbishops facilitated the dialogue of the Sumilao Farmers with the President last December
18, 2007. Archbishop Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales personally wrote a letter to the President calling for the
immediate response of the government to the Sumilao case. Bishop Pacana of Malaybalay as well as ArchBishop
Lagdameo of Jaro, the President of Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, also wrote the President in
behalf of the Sumilao Farmers.
Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB) of Ateneo de Manila Loyola House of Studies played a meaningful and key role
during the Sumilao March specifically when the marchers reached the National Capital Region (NCR). The Jesuit

3000 individuals marching with the 55 Sumilao farmers in some 50 cities/municipalities

from Sumilao, Bukidnon to Malacaang Palace.
The 55 marchers and a score of supporters received shelter, food, water, coffee,
medicines24 and written statements of support from these institutions. Other funding
agencies25 and individuals26 supported the campaign. The Sumilao marchers were given
the opportunity to express and tell their stories in various masses they attended. CARP
extension and reform, was one of the five major calls of the Sumilao farmers in their 1700
km-walk. The marchers stopped at Congress to call on the legislators to extend and reform
CARP. They also conducted an indigenous ritual at Senate premises to seek support to their
cause.
Production and Distribution Information Materials 27.Press kits were prepared to be given to
the media people, church, students, and other support groups. The contents included the
volunteers were mobilized to join the march starting from Ateneo de Manila University until the farmers went back
to Sumilao, Bukidnon. They were also involved in coordinating with other groups and individuals in generating
moral and financial support for the Sumilao farmers.
20

Among them, the Caucus of development NGO networks (CODE-NGO, the largest coalition of NGOs and POs in
the country with 2,500 member organizations issued a statement of support. More than 20 other national
federations, coalitions of NGOs, farmers, fishers, indigenous peoples signed up in a statement of support.
International organizations such as FOCUS-Asia and AFA issued statements of support and/or covered the
campaign in their respective newsletters.
21
The Catholic Educators Association of the Philippines likewise issued a statement of support, even as the
exclusive Ateneo de Manila University mobilized some 500 students, alumni, and staff during the Sumilao march to
Ateneo. Set up by the Ateneo students, more than 1000 signatures were generated in the online petition
supporting the cause of the Sumilao farmers.
22
Major teeve stations (especially ABS-CBN covered the march from day one), prominent dailies (Philippine Daily
Inquirer) and respected opinion writers wrote favorable statements re. the Sumilao case. For two months, local
radios covered the march and toward the latter part, national radios covered the march. International papers
including Singaporean news and Japan-based Hurights wrote articles on the march.
23
Mostly from the Department of Agrarian Reform in the provinces who likewise are lobbying for the extension of
CARP. A prominent and well-respected Ramon Magsaysay Awardee mayor joined the 7-kilometer walk to Naga
City and published on line his inspiring reflections.
24
Estimated to be at around P400,000
25
FSSI (PhP220,000), CODE-NGO (PhP200,000), PEF (PhP100,000), Samdhana Institute (PhP45,000), OxFam GB
(PhP500,000) are among them who supported the mobilization and participation of other farmers organizations,
the logistical, media, and personnel needs of the campaign.
26
Initiatives by students and their organizations in the Ateneo netted around 150,000 which were given to the
Sumilao farmers and their families.
27

Expecting serious legal and extra-legal response from the Corporation and the government, it is important that
the farmers who will wage the struggle would have unquestioned credibility in the eyes of the public27. Thus, a
good profiling of the would- be participants to the campaign was necessary. PAKISAMA deployed a staff at Brgy.
San Vicente, Sumilao, Bukidnon to conduct social investigation and profiling of 78 MAPALAD farmers and 87 new
landless farmer-claimants (SALFA members). She also integrated herself in the community. Fifty-five farmers were
eventually chosen, fifteen of them women, mostly in the 20s and 30s, a third were members of MAPALAD MPC
while the other two-thirds were members of San Vicente Landless Farmers Association (SALFA), to join the 1,700km walk to Manila.(see Annex 2: Profile of 55 core marchers)
Benefits generated by the 78 MAPALAD farmers from the less than a hectare of land awarded to them in the
neighboring landholding, the Carlos Estate.
Another output after the said social investigation was a compilation of case studies focusing on the benefits gained
by at least five members of MAPALAD Multi-purpose Cooperative from acquiring the adjacent 66-hectare Carlos
Estate, which was still a part of their ancestral land. Each member was allocated a farm lot ranging from 0.450 to
0.900 hectare depending on his/her involvement with the cooperatives projects and activities. The farmers
concluded that over the past 12 years had the 144 -hectare land been awarded to 137 farmer-beneficiaries, they
could have already earned a net income of P756,000 each per hectare, or a total of P188, 864,000 enough for the
137 families to produce 548 college graduates. Also they could have produced 20,736 tons of food in the 144

Sumilao Farmers position paper, brief summary of the Sumilao case, Chronology of events,
copies of legal documents, and statements of support from the church and various credible
institutions, a flyer, and the route of the march. A powerpoint presentation and short video
clips on the march were also used to complement the said documents predominantly used
during the groundworking phase in the campaign to get the support of key institutions.
Some 50,000 leaflets, 1,300 t-shirts, 500 pins, and a hundred DVDs were also produced
and disseminated. PAKISAMA and several other institutions plus scores of bloggers put the
Sumilao campaign prominently in their respective websites.
Influencing Public Opinion. A chronicler, a photo and a video documenter joined the entire
march producing daily updates e-mailed to various supporters and uploaded in
www.sumilaomarch.multiply.com website. A media coordinator who helped in the earlierwaged successful Malaga Hunger Strike campaign was hired to help facilitate the conduct of
Press conferences, to invite press people in several activities and mobilizations, and to
provide regular updates on the Sumilao campaign. She was assisted by a full-time press
release writer and two other volunteer writers who produced daily press releases since the
campaign started. A professional photographer was also tapped to capture significant and
striking shots during the Sumilao March. Two professional video cameraman and
photographer/writer volunteered to accompany the Sumilao marchers during the whole
stretch of the campaign and produced materials for television news and internets you tube.
A media committee was also formed in Manila to regularly analyze the angling for everyday
releases. The committee was also tasked to do some staff work such as faxing Press
Releases, compiling the regular documentation of the march, and clipping newspaper
articles on the Sumilao march. The two-month walk by the 55 farmers eventually was
covered by scores of tri-media agencies locally, nationally and internationally. It was
covered for more than ten days in front pages of major dailies, and achieved almost daily
radio interviews and a score of tevee appearances. (www.sumilaomarch.multiply.com) The
online petition generated more than a thousand signatures from a broad spectrum of
supporters.
Dialogue and Mobilization with Government. Some three thousand PAKISAMA and allied
farmers and supporters mobilized along the route. The most significant was the December
17 march to Malacanang of 800 supporters many coming from religious congregations,
parishes and schools. Several meetings were conducted with the leaders of the Department
of Agrarian Reform. Eventually a Negotiation Team from the Office of the President, SMC,
and the Church supporting the Sumilao farmers led by Cardinal Rosales and Bishop Pabillo
was formed and on March 29, 2008 a settlement agreement was signed by both parties
(Sumilao farmers and SMC) witnessed by government and Church.

hectares enough to feed 983 families over the past 12 years or enough to feed their families and 846 other families
or a ratio of one Sumilao farmer feeding eight other families.
Analysis of literatures written and produced on the MAPALAD case
PAKISAMA was also able to gather a set of related literatures on the MAPALAD case containing a clipping of
newspaper articles written during the 1997 MAPALAD Hunger Strike; proceedings of workshop on Agrarian Reform
in the Philippines: Status and Perspectives for 1998 and Beyond27 which was held on August 1998 of which the
MAPALAD case was comprehensively discussed, a copy of a video-presentation entitled MAPALAD: A Hunger for
Justice produced by Sean Farrel27, a masteral thesis, also by Farrel, entitled Struggling for Change: The MAPALAD
Farmers and Land Reform in the Philippines27. The Probe Team at that time also was able to make a 9-minute
video documentary about the Sumilao case27. These two video-documentaries were used by PAKISAMA and other
support groups in press conferences and meetings with would-be support institutions.

Entry to 50 hectares. By March 30, 2008 the farmers and supporters boarded C130
sponsored by Malacanang back to Cagayan de Oro City. The farmers jubilantly entered the
50 hectares and immediately cultivated it with a carabao and a tractor and planted organic
corn seeds.
CARPER Campaign and Rene Penas Martyrdom
A few months after, the Sumilao farmers focused on assisting other farmers get back their
land and in campaigning for the enactment of CARP Extension with Reforms Bill. By
November 2009, Rene Penas, the acknowledged Sumilao Leader-organizer went to
Camarines Sur and represented PAKISAMA in organizing the march of the 47 Banasi farmers
who were being threatened to be evicted from the 111-hectare farmlands they acquired and
paid already under the CARP. With the same Sumilao support groups assisting, the walk
(which covered 444 kilometers in two weeks) and the campaign of 47 farmers to
Malacanang lasted 36 days and succeeded to get DARs and Malacanangs positive response,
affirming their claims to their land. By February-May, Rene Penas with other Sumilao
farmers joined the nationwide pilgrimage caravan and walk for CARPER participated in by
Banasi and Calatagan farmers. CARPER advocates led by Bishop Pabillo waged a hunger
strike for CARPER. Led by Rene Penas, farmers occupied the Congress lobby to put more
pressure to the Lower House deliberating on the CARPER bill. He went home to San Vicente
learning that a new law will soon to be passed by both Houses of Congress. On July 5, 2009,
at around midnight while motorcycling back to his farm, he was shot dead, by still unidentified men. His remains was brought to Manila the day both Houses of Congress
finalized the provisions of RA 9700 extending CARP for another 5 years, allocating 150
billion pesos, and prioritizing compulsory acquisition of largest landholdings.
Struggle for 94 hectares
It took another two years of series of dialogues and negotiations, two month camp-out in
front of SMC property in San Vicente, before the Sumilao farmers finally got hold of the
remaining 94 hectares from adjacent properties, some of them are not near enough, and
can be located 15 kilometers from San Vicente. On October 10, 2010, Secretary Gil de los
Reyes handed the Certificate of Land Ownership Award covering 97 hectares (plus 3
hectares to compensate for the 3-year delay since the revocation) to PANAW-Sumilao, the
new cooperative of 163 Sumilao farmers.

Community organization consolidation activities

The Development of 147 hectares and the previously acquired lands. From 76 when the
campaign started in 1997, the Sumilao farmers known as the MAPALAD MPC grew to 163 in
2007 when they merged with SALFA as PANAW-Sumilao Cooperative. Their long and
arduous campaign for land distribution has helped them to strengthen their unity as a
community. When they acquired the Carlos property in 2002, the MAPALAD MPC was able to
settle in relatively planned subdivision-like settlement with each member having a 250square- meter homelot and garden, a basketball court, and a big structure (left by the
Carloses) for community meetings, seminars and office. When the PANAW-Sumilao acquired
the adjacent 50 hectares from the contested 144 hectares in 2008, their grown-up sons and
daughters, members of SALFA, were able likewise to build their houses along the Sayre Hiway, now not as squatters but as legitimate homeowners. Tabang Mindanaw assisted them
to acquire and build a potable water system. The DAR provided a 2- million peso production
loan. The Church and Xavier University assisted in providing them with sustainable

agriculture technologies and inputs. Now that they have 211 hectares to develop, and even
their former adversaries such as the Municipal Mayor, SMC, and DOLE have promised
support, management of support institutions and the newly-formed cooperative have
become a daunting task. PAKISAMA in response has deployed a community organizer in
Sumilao to help strengthen PANAW-Sumilao as a cooperative and facilitate the coordination
of various production, marketing, and basic services support promised by various agencies.
They are currently in the process of coming out with an organizational strategic plan and a
comprehensive community development plan which include production and marketing
programs.

Scaling Up
Over the past 13 years, the Sumilao farmers have become an icon in the agrarian reform
movement and its leaders especially Renato Penas eventually became leaders of the
provincial (PALAMBU) and national (PAKISAMA) federations they were affiliated with. Their
story, now told in videos, have inspired and continues to inspire many groups in the
country, among them the Banasi and Calatagan farmers, who likewise launched their
respective long distance walks with the guidance of Sumilao leaders. Now their young
leader, Yoyong Merida, has started contact with groups such as the indigenous peoples,
small farmers and fishers of Aurora province who are threatened for eviction from their
13,000-hectare agriculture, fishery, and ancestral lands and water by Aurora Pacific
Economic Zone (APECO), a project and a law crafted by a local political dynasty.
Phasing-out?
As previously mentioned, while many leaders have been trained already hands-on on
community organizing, an external community organizer, now focusing on enterprise
development, has been assigned by PAKISAMA in the community as the Sumilao farmers
face the new challenges of building capacity in managing and implementing sustainable
production, processing and marketing enterprises and responding to the need for a farmerled agricultural development leadership in the municipality and province. The concept of
phase out has been challenged in this case. Perhaps phasing over, with roles of federation
and NGOs changing through time given the capacity of the of the community
organization/base peoples organization, is a more appropriate concept.

V.

Community Organizing Outputs and Outcome/Impact

Extent of Target Achievement

It can be said that the key material-gain objectives were met and even achieved beyond
expectations primarily because the four organizational and educational objectives were
likewise achieved.
The farmers were able to get 211 hectares. The campaign helped 165 farmerclaimants to achieve a major victory, in their almost two-decade struggle for agrarian
reform implementation. Amidst the forces of immense corporate power and influence, the
campaign was able to force the President of the country to reverse the earlier decision of
her office and revoked a 1999 Supreme Court-sanctioned land conversion order on the basis

of the landowners violation of strict government rules on land conversion. The farmers
initially targeted to acquire 144 hectares but were able to get 147 hectares, 50 hectares of
which were donated from the contested 144 hectares and the 97 hectares from the
neighboring landholdings purchased by SMC for sale to the Sumilao farmers under the
Voluntary Offer to Sell scheme of CARP. This is in addition to the 64 hectares the MAPALAD
MPC farmers got from the neighboring Carlos Estate.
Enactment of a new legislation on agrarian reform. But more importantly, especially
to the broad agrarian reform movement, it contributed significantly to the enactment of a
new legislation on agrarian reform that allocated budget for government to compulsory
acquire/buy big private landholdings and redistribute them under a subsidized amortization
rate to a million landless farm workers/landless farmers and support a government
bureaucracy to transform another million of sugar and coconut tenant farmers from serfdom
as they gain access and control over a piece of land or better share in the fruits of their
labour as leaseholders. The new legislation also has enshrined the registration of
women/wives of farmer beneficiaries in the certificates of landownership awards to ensure
equal women access to the land. The paper by Ernie Lim on the CARPER Campaign
mentioned the role of the Sumilao farmers as the group that put a human face to the
legislative reform campaign for agrarian reform.
COCOBREAD Attainment
In 1995, after a series of rural organizers fora, the Philippine Community Organizers
Society has agreed on a nine-key result area-CO Standard called COCOBREAD An attempt
will be made to assess the impact of the Sumilao campaign using the standard.
COCO pertains to four key result areas, called in CO parlance, the organizational and
educational objectives such as Consciousness Raising, Organizational Development,
Coalition Efforts and Advocacy, Overcoming Gender and other biases. BREAD on the other
hand, are five key result areas such as Basic Services, Resource Tenure Improvement (RTI),
Economic Self-Reliance and Strengthening, Agricultural Development and Ecological
Nurture, Democratic Participation in Governance or again in CO parlance, pertains to
material objectives.
The Sumilao community organizing campaign was primarily a campaign for resource tenure
improvement i.e., to acquire the 144-hectare contested ancestral land and help enact a law
to extend CARP. The other KRAs were expected to come consequent to the success of their
RTI campaign. But the four organizational and educational KRAs were basic in achieving the
RTI objective.
Basic Services. Assisted by an NGO support group, the community got a safe potable water
system accessible to all the Sumilao farmers households making it possible for them avoid
water-borne diseases and save efforts at fetching water from a distant source previously
undertaken by many women and children. A number of sons and daughters of farmer
leaders got education scholarships from support groups, prominent among them was the
son of Renato Penas who finished a college diploma from de la Salle University.
Economic Self-Reliance and Strengthening. With land awarded to them, the Sumilao farmers
can now decide their economic fate, plan over a long term the crops they would plant and
livestock to grow. They are now assured of the means to become food secure and given a
good use of current sustainable agriculture technologies and social enterprise practices they
could earn much more surplus for their families education and health.

Agricultural Development and Ecological Nurturance. The Sumilao farmers immediately were
able to access two million peso production credit support from the Department of Agrarian
Reform and marketing support from an NGO. Since then, each farmer was able to plant
organic corn in the awarded hectare property and assured her family food to eat the rest
of their lives. A group of women farmers now are producing organic corn grits and are being
marketed by a team of Sumilao farmers supporters. Clusters of organic onion producers are
being organized and linked to Jollibee Foundation. Crop diversification is now being
implemented and is being adapted in an increasing number of farms. A cluster of farmers
are now producing vermicast fertilizers to supply the rest of the members. Others are
raising goats and fish in small ponds.
The new agrarian reform legislation has allocated 40% of the total 150 Billion peso Fund for
production credit, irrigation facilities, farm to market roads, and other support including
market access to increase their productivity and income. This fund could potentially support
some five million farmers.
Democratic Participation in Governance. A big area for improvement and discussion, the
Sumilao farmers are now increasingly aware of the importance of actively participating in
electoral politics and to influence programs and policies of local government units. Several
of them run for office in the latest barangay elections, unfortunately, competing against
each other, they all lost. They actively campaigned as a group for Risa Hontiveros (for
Senator) and Akbayan for the party-list in the last elections.
The following could be said about the achievements in the organizational and educational
key result areas:

Consciousness Raising. Having been exposed to various people, institutions, and

practices, most participants especially in the 1,700-km Walk, have broadened their vision
and expanded their consciousness to include the development not only of their immediate
community but of the whole farming sector and the nation as a whole. This can be
demonstrated by their willingness to sacrifice, walk with, and actively participate in various
direct action of Banasi, Calatagan farmers and the enactment of the CARPER bill.
The campaign helped educate the broad public and policy makers on the importance of the
Constitutional mandate to develop the nation by undertaking agrarian reform. The hunger
strike caught national attention achieving a 46% awareness level among Filipino adults and
virtual unanimous support (90) to their cause according to a 1997 Social Weather Stations
Survey. At the height of the 1997 hunger strike, various opinion leaders debated the
importance of agrarian reform to national development. Eventually, no less than the Office
of the President certified as urgent bill the passage of the CARP Fund Augmentation Bill.
Three months after, a new law was enacted providing 50 billion pesos to CARP s
implementation for a ten-year program extension (1998-2008) allowing the distribution of
some two million hectares of land during the period.
The Sumilao Farmers Walk for Land and Justice likewise revived the public debate on the
importance of agrarian reform. San Miguel Corporation and the Federation of Philippine
Industries justified the state- of- the- art piggery business built on the contested property in
Sumilao arguing growth and productivity while 20 Ateneo de Manila economics and
development management professors defended the Sumilao farmers claim to the land
arguing the role of agrarian reform in the success of neighboring economies such as South
Korea and Taiwan. The Sumilao farmers case has been featured in a couple of
Congressional hearings debating whether or not to extend CARP. The day the Bicameral

Conference finalized the version of RA 9700, was the day the body of Rene Penas arrived in
Manila for supporters to pay their last respect. The legislators in the Bicam opened their
discussion with a prayer that they be guided by the spirit of Rene Penas.

Organizational Development. The campaign helped strengthen the local farmers

MAPALAD Multi-Purpose Cooperative and the new young farmers organization (SALFA) and
the merger between the two, though admittedly daunting, is facilitating the process of
achieving greater economy of scale and organizational management efficiency. The arduous
campaign has helped develop maximum membership participation, organizational systems
improvement, and broad-based and second-line leadership. They were able to sharpen their
negotiation skills as they faced negotiators of the President and San Miguel Corporation and
their public speaking, organization and mobilization skills as they faced thousands of people
in various rallies/fora they undertook nationwide.

Coalition Efforts and Advocacy. The Campaign facilitated the revival of the provincial
federation PALAMBU, the consolidation of PAKISAMA members and leaders, and the
broadening of a network of agrarian reform advocates under the broad coalition: Lakaw
Sumilao. This broad multi-stakeholder civil society coalition of Producers organizations,
NGOs, academe, and Churches aided by supportive elements in the media sector have
transformed itself into a watchdog and a countervailing force to ensure the timely and
honest-to-goodness implementation of CARPER law. They learned better and can be
expected to perform better in the coming years in their continued advocacy campaign
The Sumilao farmers inspired support and participation of the broadest sections of Philippine
society especially the churches and students and catalyzed fellow farmers to wage similar
non-violent initiatives to claim their land rights. The cross-country walk was joined in by at
least three thousand individuals and three hundred organizations across the country and
was in front pages of major dailies and television channels in over a month. Students and
faculty of various schools including the Ateneo de Manila University accompanied and hosted
the Sumilao farmers in their hunger strike and marches. A score of Bishops led by Jaime
Cardinal Sin (1997) Sin and Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales (2007-2008) and Jesuit Archbishop
Antonio Ledesma, Bishops Francisco Claver and Pacana, and the CBCP-NASSA Chair
Broderick Pabillo and their respective arch/dioceses also lent a helping hand by providing
food, lodging accommodation, written statements of support and actual presence in Masses
and dialogues with government officials.
A similar hunger strike was waged by a group of landless farmers from Negros in early
2007, whose groups name was taken from the Sumilao farmers cooperative (MAPALAD
Multi-purpose Cooperative), the Task Force MAPALAD. Following the cross- country walk of
the Sumilao farmers in 2007, several farmer groups followed long distance walk such as the
Task Force Mapalad in Negros, mobilizing 5,000 farmers in a three-day 100-kilometer walk
around the island of Negros . Farmers from Hacienda Yulo in Luzon, waged a 14-day walk,
the Banasi farmers from Bicol walked 444 kilometers and Calatagan farmers walked for a
week all to demand agrarian justice.

Overcoming Gender and other biases. One third of the participants in most
mobilizations were women and the youth outnumbered the older generation in the 1700-km
walk. The icons in the hunger strike and the Walk were a balance of women (Linda Ligmon,
Gilda Sang-ahan, Bajekjek Merida) and men (Renato Penas, Peter Tuminhay, Yoyong
Merida). There was also a mix in the leadership between the pure Higaonons (Peter
Tuminhay, Gilda Sang-ahan, Linda Ligmon) and the settlers (Renato Penas, Toto Merida).

V.

Lessons and Insights

Key Success Factors

What can be identified as success factors of the Sumilao Campaign? There are three which
may have significant implications to development theory and practice.
1. Community Organizing Technology and Active Non-Violence
The deployment of professional community organizers which facilitated the process of
participatory issue and problem analysis, planning, and issue confrontation and the
intensive use of community organizing principles and techniques, a social change
technology introduced in the country in the 70s and the active non-violence techniques
introduced in the 80 combined to produce creative tactics and facilitate the formation of
highly disciplined and organized group of farmer-claimants which eventually won over the
support of various institutions and individuals putting enough public pressure to decisionmakers eventually giving in to the farmers long-overdue just demand.
At the heart of the Sumilao campaign were the dedication, competence, and discipline
shown by the Sumilao marchers as observed by the public and their supporters. They
conducted their hunger strike and their long distance walk in a highly-disciplined and
organized manner. They endured enormous physical challenges such as a 28-day hunger
and 1,700 kilometer walk and eventually achieved their objectives. In the long Walk, they
marched with cadence and shouted their calls vigorously. Every hunger striker and marcher
could tell the Sumilao story and their objectives. They could readily cite legal as well as
moral arguments supporting their cause. They could both appeal to the mind and heart.
They were deciding on most matters from the conduct of the strike and the march to the
crucial decision of what to demand from government. All of the participants in the direct
actions have their own specific task to perform and are being given opportunities to hone
their leadership skills. They met daily to assess and plan and make their leaders to account
on their action. They eventually were able to confidently meet and discuss with the
President and top ranking government, Church, and NGO leaders and got their support.
Much of the lessons learned in the Sumilao campaign affirm many things already written on
community organizing and advocacy. What was novel in the campaign, however, in the
Philippine experience were the tactic itself of making Mindanao a walking distance, the
highly disciplined march shown by the 55 marchers acting like a company of non-violent
soldiers, and the unprecedented involvement of the Catholic Churches and schools.
Community Organizing Principles and Techniques Affirmed
Ten Steps. This case affirms the community organizing technology as espoused by Saul
Alinsky and enhanced by the popular education pedagogy of Paulo Freire. In the
Philippines, the Philippine Community Organizers Society continues to affirm the wisdom of
the basic principles of community organizing such as mass-based and democratic
leadership, experiential learning pedagogy, and the Ten Steps to Community Organizing:
Integration, Social Investigation, Tentative Program, Groundwork, Meeting, Role Play,
Negotiation/Mobilization, Evaluation, Reflection, and Organization. These steps have been
iteratively used extensively by the Sumilao farmers. The two tactics which caught peoples
imaginations such as the hunger strike and the Walk were by themselves product of
understanding the culture and situation of the Sumilao farmers (Tentative Program)

generated through long integration and social investigation work by the community
organizers. There were almost daily meetings during the entire period of the Strike and the
Walk and a lot of groundworking to ensure meetings were productive. Before negotiations
with SMC or GMA and even Cardinal Rosales, role plays were done. Almost every night, the
experience of the day was processed and evaluated and reflections and lessons were
generated. These processes were repeated as action-reflection-action process forming in the
process an organization producing task-tested leaders and were made accountable by
vigilant members.
Deployment of creative, novel, and effective tactics. Midwest Academy, a training center for
Community Organizers in USA has the following 8-point checklist in assessing the potential
of a tactic, as follows: Can you really do it? Do you have the needed people, time and
resources? Is it focused on either the primary or secondary target? Does it put real power
behind a specific demand? Does it meet you organizational goals as well as you issue goals?
Is it outside the experience of the target? Is it within the experience of your own members
and are they comfortable with it? Do you have enough leaders experienced enough to do
it?Will people enjoy participating in it? Will it play positively in the media?
The Sumilao campaign has positive answer to all these questions to the Successful Hunger
Strike and especially pertaining to the long-distance Walk.
First, the Sumilao farmers had the capacity to do the long walk. They already did a more
difficult hunger strike campaign in the past. They also had the necessary people/machinery
(see Number 2) and resources. Timing was also best. Agrarian reform bills were already
being discussed in Congress.
Second, the primary target was very clear from the very start, the President. SMC,DAR, the
Church hierarchy, and others, were secondary. The pressure was already felt by the
President on the first day of the march. Her office immediately issued an order citing the
Supreme Court ruling to dissuade the farmers from walking. But of course it only affirmed
that their tactic of doing the long walk was correct and had an immediate impact. They
continued to walk.
Third, there was real power in the demand for the revocation of the land conversion order
and the redistribution of the land: legal, moral, intellectual, physical. The long march, the
Jericho march amidst the Jun Lozada NBN-ZTE peoples uproar, the threat of a nationwide
consumer boycott of San Miguel products and continuous Catholic school and parish
conscientization visits/talks by the farmers all helped, pushing Malacanang and San Miguel
Corporation to negotiate.
Fourth, as abovementioned, the walk was not only able to achieve their issue goals. It also
helped strengthen the organization of Sumilao farmers and their supporters.
Fifth, walking long distances in search for food and endurance to suffering were very much
part of the daily experience of the farmers. In fact, walking 30-40 kilometers everyday was
less hard than the 8-hour back- breaking work they had to endure as farmworkers.
Sixth, this was very much outside the ordinary experience of the President and SMC
President.

Seventh, the farmers enjoyed it. While leaving the family and walking long distance were
hard, they had also the great opportunity to see the Philippines (San Juanico Bridge, Mayon
Volcano, Manila), be seen in television and talked about in radio and read in the dailies,
meet so many people personally including the President and the Cardinal, eat better and
more food, train themselves to speak in public, and have an exciting event almost daily:
including confronting policepersons.
Finally, the tactic was never done before, and therefore played well in the media. Gandhis
Salt March covered half the distance the Sumilao farmers walked. As Winnie Monsod
mentioned in her column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the walk captured the imagination
of the public.
Active Non-Violence Affirmed
The campaign likewise affirmed the effectiveness of active non-violence as a Social Change
Technology. Active Non-Violence (ANV) Technology, as a systematic theory and practice to
non-violent action as espoused by the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR)
introduced in the Philippines in 1984, has been the guiding technology of the 1986 People
Power Revolution and the various non-violent campaigns after that including the latest
Sumilao Farmers March. A movement called AKKAPKA or Action for Justice and Peace
provided inputs and accompaniment to the Sumilao farmers and continues to give a twoday seminar on this technology to various social actors in the country and Asia. The EDSA
People Power Revolution affirmed active non-violence as effective measure to topple a
dictatorship. As mentioned, the Sumilao farmers were provided training on Active Nonviolence before they launched their unprecedented hunger strike and long distance walk.
The Sumilao farmers campaign affirmed active non-violence as an effective measure against
big landlordism, corporate social irresponsibility, and government lethargy and the
combination of these three. Active Non-violence believes in the power of the people who
clings to and speak the truth and overcomes injustice by consistent non-violent means
winning-over in the process the various pillars of support of existing injustice. The Sumilao
farmers struggle exemplifies this as they learned about its principles and methods and
systematically employ them accepting the price to pay. They were awarded by the Dona
Aurora Aragon Peace Award (1998) and Ateneo de Manilas Ozanam Award (2008) precisely
because of the far-reaching impact of their witnessing to truth and active non-violence.
2. A Credible Civil Society Machinery and Alliances
The Sumilao farmers were known to many people and had established themselves ten years
ago as the group of farmers that waged a similar dramatic action, inflicting suffering to self
to achieve their objectives. According to a Social Weather Stations Survey, their 1997
hunger strike generated 46% awareness level among Filipino adults and virtual unanimity
(90%) of support. Their highly disciplined march provided a new benchmark in mass
mobilization in the country.
The Sumilao farmers campaign machinery, the PAKISAMA and Peoples Campaign for
Agrarian Reform Network (ARNow!) had broad nationwide and international networks of
competent and dedicated lawyers, community organizers, media writers, fund raisers and
networkers. Their organizational credibility in civil society are also high generating further
support from church, academic, media, and even government institutions. But PAKISAMA
as the major campaign organizer during this period had very limited human resource, its
member organizations still had to consolidate and revive after three years of organizational
conflict. Without the ARNow! members and other support institutions that joined along the

way, the campaign could not have achieved the unexpected results. Existing PAKISAMA
networks such as the Reform CARP Movement, Kilos AR, and Asian Farmers Association
(AFA); Fr. Bernas, S.J., Chris Monsod and Aalternative Llawegal Ggroups (ALG) especially(
SALIGAN, BALAOD-Mindanao, and KAISAHAN); Cardinal Rosales, Bishop Pabillo and other
Bishops and priests and the church institutions (NASSA, Caritas, Simbahang Lingkod-Bayan
(SLB) and JPIC-AMRSP);, the School organizations (Catholic Education Association of the
Philippines (CEAP) esp. Ateneo, and de La Salle, and Adamson, and MAPSA);, the NGOs
(CODE-NGO, PMP, AKKAPKA, PhilCOS, etc); funding agencies (International Land Coalition,
Agriterra, FSSI, PEF, Oxfam, Misereor, ICCO, etc); key media personalities (e.g., Ceres
Doyo, Winnie Monsod, Mahar Mangahas) and institutions (e.g., PDI, ABS-CBN, GMA7);
political parties (e.g. Akbayan) who have been PAKISAMA and ARNows friends and allies
over the past two decades, all helped a lot!
3. The Democratic Setting and Institutions
Already taken for granted by many Filipinos, the current Constitution, approved in 1987 and
un-amended until this day, is a product of the 1986 People Power Revolution which reestablished democratic institutions allowing political freedom including the right to organize
and protest. The same constitution has enshrined the role of peoples organizations and
NGOs in nation building. Most national farmers federations including PAKISAMA and NGO
networks were born after the ouster of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986. Media (television,
print, radio) outfits blossomed and have established stations in key cities, provinces, and
towns providing platforms and venues for the voices of marginal groups such as the Sumilao
farmers to be heard in the mainstream news locally, nationally, and even internationally (Al
Jazeera).
Freedom of religion was also enshrined giving the Roman Catholic Church institution more
space to express publicly its solidarity with the poor through their masses and structures
present in every town/city. The Church has become the sanctuary to Sumilao farmers
marchers, with the Cardinal, Bishops and priests and nuns from various congregations not
only putting their moral suasion but also mobilizing their lay constituents to listen to and
help physically and spiritually the farmers in their case. The 1,200-member Catholic schools
comprising the Catholic Education Association of the Philippines (CEAP) provided the
Sumilao farmers venues to interact with their students who in turn mobilized and provided
logistical and campaign support. Thus, when with two sacks of corn when they started the
long walk, the farmers returned two months after with three jeep loads of goods mostly
food and clothing from supporters.
The country is noted for a vibrant civil society exacting government accountability and
transparency. Very much smaller, perhaps comprising only of one percent of the total
number of NGOs and peoples organizations in the country, those who work for agrarian
reform are among the most visible, militant, though predominantly non-violent, comprising
very dedicated and competent community organizers and campaigners, lawyers, media
persons, and technical people.
The Constitution has also enshrined a policy on industrialization based on sound agricultural
modernization and agrarian reform. This provision provided the basis for the enactment of a
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law in 1988, which was extended for ten years in 1998,
and eventually extended to 2014 after the successful advocacy campaign triggered by the
Sumilao farmers march.

Insights, Implications and Recommendations

Twenty-five years after the EDSA People Power revolution, and 22 years after the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, while significant progress have been achieved in
distributing some seven million hectares of land to four million farmers, the largest private
landholdings continue to be controlled by the most powerful political and economic leaders
in the country, depriving a million landless farmers to their fair share of the countrys very
important endowment and to have the opportunity to develop as free owner-cultivators.
It is possible for landless farmers to get land even if faced with powerful adversaries such
as a corrupt government and cunning multinational corporation. Expectedly, however, the
farmers must be prepared to organize themselves and conduct a disciplined and persistent
non-violent action to be able to get the support of powerful civil society institutions
especially the Church enough to put the necessary public pressure to decision makers and
tilt the balance of forces in farmers favor. But even, then, farmer-claimants must be
prepared to settle and compromise.
There may be Corporations who will be emboldened by the SMC-Sumilao farmers
settlement agreement and take the wrong cue of violating with impunity the agrarian
reform laws with the hope that if caught and become so publicly controversial, they can do
an SMC-Sumilao deal. Thus, it is important for more communities to prepare and learn the
methods and principles especially of issue-based community organizing and active nonviolence to be able to address high-conflict social justice issues.
To ensure a speedy distribution of the remaining 1.6 million hectares covered by
CARPER, peasant groups must seriously consider participating in the broader campaign to
build a strong reform constituency that will continually put pressure to government to
eventually generate the political will to implement it. This constituency will have to build on
the broad coalitions composed of POs, NGOs, legislators, government CARPER
implementers, Church leaders and workers, School Administrators, faculty and students,
and Media practicioners formed during the Sumilao and CARPER campaigns and expand
their reach in the process.
The current leadership of the Department of Agrarian Reform has mapped out a strategy to
prioritize the distribution of the biggest landholdings and to set up task forces on
problematic ones. It asserts a state-led province-focused implementation. The DAR
leadership would need all the help of the President and other Cabinet members to once and
for all finish the long unfinished business of land reform. The most important action in this
regard, given its iconic role, is the immediate distribution of Hda. Luisita covering 6,000
hectares. The Sumilao and other land cases would suggest the great difficulties the
Department will be facing vis--vis elaborate and systematic landlords resistance especially
if Had Luisita is not distributed. It is therefore important that the Department is able to
effectively mobilize its own personnel and to lead them to work closely and in partnership
with POs and NGOs.
But there are very few peasant federations/organizations and NGOs undertaking direct
community organizing around CARPER implementation and they may need to continue and
expand their ranks to significantly make the difference. NGOs and POs would need financing
support to undertake the necessary community organizing work. It is thus recommended
here that donor agencies such as PEF, FPE, and FSSI and multi-lateral funding agencies
such as UNDP, FAO, and IFAD to push for meaningful CARPER implementation by supporting
programs and projects aimed to empower and organize a huge segment of the

landless/near-landless CARPER claimants. The Sumilao case, as in many other community

organizing cases, demonstrates the high ROI of community organizing. From a purely
financial standpoint, the Campaign is estimated to have cost 8 million pesos (3 million pesos
of donor money, 5 million pesos of volunteer and opportunity cost to farmer and support
participants) over seve intensive years of organizing and campaigning (i.e., 1990, 19971999, and 2007-2010). The farmers were able to acquire for free 50 hectares worth 12.5
million pesos and another 161 hectares worth P40.25 million which will be paid by the
farmers in 30 years. We will need experts to compute the actual financial ROI. Researches

and experience from other countries, i.e., USA, affirm the same findings: the high financial and
social ROI of community organizing investment28.
But how can one measure the other results they achieved (i.e., increased knowledge and
organizational and mobilization capacity, increased access to various public and privates
goods and services, strong social cohesion, high public consciousness on agrarian reform,
public recognition, exposure and awards received, impact to CARPER legislation which
affected , inspiration to the public, public education on agrarian reform reaching almost half
of the populations adults, increased number of friends and social capital/network) and the
cost of lives lost (i.e., Ruben Lesion, Atty Bobby Gana and Caloy Ollado, Renato Penas, and
liberty curtailed (i.e., jailing of Sumilao leaders)?

"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."
(Sign hanging in Einstein's office at Princeton)

28

Reports on ROI for Supporting Community Organizing; Katrina's Impact on Lower-income and African-American Families posted
on: Thursday, June 12, 2008 by NCRP. Two new reports highlight important work undertaken by research director Niki Jagpal and senior
research associate Lisa Ranghelli prior to joining NCRP's research team. The methods and results of these research efforts will inform NCRP's
own work to promote philanthropy at its best.
The Solidago Fund recently released a report quantifying the community benefits achieved by its grantees and the return on investment of its
funding for community organizing. Lisa Ranghelli worked with Jeff Rosen and other Solidago staff to develop the methodology and gather and
analyze data for the report. She had previously worked with the Needmor fund to do a similar analysis of its community organizing grantmaking
(see below). In calculating community benefits, the Solidago methodology allowed for differentiation between shared and full credit for grantee
accomplishments. It also determined the foundations contribution to these accomplishments by calculating each grant as a proportion of the
groups budget. The report concluded that collaborative strategies yielded the greatest impact and found a return on investment for Solidago of $1
to $59. [Link]
In 2003, Lisa worked with the Needmor Fund, a small family foundation focused on social justice, to collect grantee data on organizational
development. Lisas work found that the 18 surveyed grantees had collectively grown their membership by more than 30% and their leadership
by 53% over four years. The most striking thing she found was that the aggregate dollar amount of their accomplishments during the four year
time horizon was more than $1.37 billion. This meant that Needmors investment of $2,688,500 effectively generated a return of $1 to $512.
[Link]
These two reports, which were preceded by independent research from the Jewish Funds for Justice, provide some of the framework for NCRPs
impact of advocacy and organizing work. For foundations seeking to maximize impact, NCRP wants to show the social and monetary value of
investing in community organizing as a way to achieve lasting social change.

REFERENCES:
www.sumilaomarch.multiply.com

www.pakisama.ph
http://asianfarmers.org/?m=200710&paged=2
www.ifor.org/articles/Reports/ad%20news_mar08.pdf
www.balaymindanaw.org/balaod/articles/.../sumilao.html
www.ellentordesillas.com/?p=1945
www.newsbreak.com.ph/index.php?option
www.youtube.com
www.saligan.org/archives.php?id=7
www.gmanews.tv/.../sumilao-farmers-back-in-manila-stage-march-for-carp www.slb.ph/beta/index.php?...sumilao-farmers...
www.newsflash.org/2004/02/pe/pe004409.htm
blogs.gmanews.tv/.../15-The-Sumilao-farmers-and-Arlene-Bag-ao.html
www.mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content...
www.asianews.it/.../Cardinal-Rosales:-give-Sumilaos-farmers-back-their-landsimmediately-11084.html
newsinfo.inquirer.net Global Nation Breaking News Nation
landwatch.i.ph/.../gma-news-lider-ng-sumilao-farmers-itinumba/
cosca-dlsu-cwts.wikispaces.com/message/view/cosca.../2388289
www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P3-1454949511.html www.landcoalition.org/pdf/07_sumilo-update.pdf
www.dreamstime.com/sumilao-farmers-protest-march-detail253

Annexes:
1) The Sumilao March Route
The fifty five core marchers marched on foot some 1,682 kilometers or 32.3
kilometers on average over a 73-day period. They walked for six days and spent a
rest day every week.
The following was the route of the march. Some adjustments were made along the
way.
October 10-24

October 25November 7

Mindanao March
Stop overs: Sumilao Puerto Balingasag
Kinoguitan Medina Gingoog Magsaysay Nasipit
Butuan City Tubay Santiago Kitcharao Badas Surigao City - Lipata
Visayas March: Leyte-Samar March Lipata, Surigao
Liloan, Southern Leyte-Sogod-Bato -Baybay (via

Inopacan) Ormoc-Tacloban City (via Carigara and

Palo)-Catbalogan, Samar-Calbayog City-Catarman,
Northern Samar-Allen- Matnog, Sorsogon
November 8-22
November 23December 5
December 6, 17

Bicol Peninsula March: Matnog-Irosin-Sorsogon

City-Daraga-Ligao City-Iriga City-Bula-Naga CityPasacao-Sipocot- Daet-Labo-Sta.Elena
Quezon-NCR March: Sta Elena-Calauag-LopezGumaca-Plaridel-Atimonon-Lucena-SariayaCandelaria-Tiaong-San Pablo City-Calamba-Quezon
City
Quezon City-Malacanang: Dialogue with DAR and
Office of the President

December 23

(Manila-Sumilao, Bukidnon (by plane, bus)

January 17-Mar 3

Walking Visits/talks to Catholic schools and

parishes around Malacanang

March 5

Jericho March around Malacanang)

March 29
2) CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
Posted by Sumilao on Jan 26, '08 11:14 AM for everyone
(based on "The Farmers' Journey" by Paterno Esmaquel II, The Guidon, November
2007 Issue; edited)
Before 1937: Higaonon forefathers settle in land.
1937-1970s: By deed of sale/transfer, the Angeles clan evicts the Higaonons to
put up a cattle ranch and grazing area.
1970s: 66 ha. are transfered to Salvador Carlos while 144 ha., the subject of the
farmers' struggle, are transferred to Norberto Quisumbing.
1990: Quisumbing's company is notified that by virtue of the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program, the 144 ha. are to be distributed to the farmers.
1993: The Sangguniang Bayan of Sumilao approves Resolution No. 24 converting
the 144-ha. prime agricultural land into industrial. Later, the application is filed
before the Department of Agrarian Reform Secretary.
1994: DAR Secretary Ernesto Garilao releases an order denying the application to
convert the land from agriculrual to agro-industrial.
1995: Bukidnon Governor Carlos Fortich appeals to President Fidel Ramos to

suspend the implementation of Garilao's orders.

1996: The Office of the President, through Executive Secretary Ruben Torres,
decides to set aside Garilao's orders and allow the conversion of the Sumilao land.
1997: Farmers hold a 28-day hunger strike in front of the DAR Central Office in
Quezon City. The Office of the President then modifies its earlier decision and
awards 100 ha. to the farmers and 44 ha. to Quisumbing, ending the strike.
1998: The Supreme Court declares the Office of the President's resolution as null
and void due to technicalities (DAR's late filing of motion for reconsideration).
1999: Farmers hold "anger strike."
2002: Land is sold to San Miguel Foods, Inc. for building a modern hog farm, a
violation to the Conversion Order rules.
2004: Sumilao farmers send a petition to DAR for immediate cancellation of the
Land Conversion Order and distribution of the property to rightful claimants.
2005: DAR Regional Director Engr. Alimoden Domado, after an ocular inspection of
the 144 ha, concluded that "there has been no development in the NQSRMDC
property that can be associated with the landowner's conversion application."
2006: The petition was dismissed because allegedly the Conversion Order was
issued by the OP, not the DAR Secretary.
October 11, 2007: 55 Sumilao farmers start to march from San Vicente, Sumilao,
Bukidnon to Manila and Malacanang.
October 11, 2007: Marching farmers received the decision of the Office of the
President denying their petition, saying that the farmers have no legal standing.
Farmers continue to march
December 5, 2007: Hundreds of students, faculty, Jesuit Seminarians and priests,
and NGO workers join the march from Cubao to Ateneo de Manila University. They
are received warmly by the Jesuit Provincial, Ateneo President and Cardinal
Rosales. A letter by the Cardinal to the President is read in the Mass.
December 6, 2007: Sumilao farmers march to Malacanang but not allowed by
hundreds of police personnel to even touch the gate.
December 17, 2008: Almost a thousand multi-sectoral supporters join the
Sumilao farmers march from the DAR Central Office in Quezon City to Malacanang
in Manila.
December 17-18: Sumilao farmers representatives meet with the President twice.

December 18, 2007: The Office of the President, through Exec. Sec. Eduardo
Ermita, revoked the Conversion Order on 144 hectares of land and put the land
back to the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
December 23, 2007: The farmers and supporters flew back to Sumilao by C130
produced by Malacanang
December 28, 2007: DAR claims to have received the Order on this date. 15 days
after should be the deadline for the motion for reconsideration.
January 2, 2008: The deadline supposedly for the motion for reconsideration,
since the Revocation Order was issued on December 18. SMC claims to have
received the Order on this date.
January 3, 2008: 15 Sumilao Farmers camp out in the DAR Regional Office in
Cagayan de Oro City, awaiting the issuance of the Notice of Coverage and Cease
and Desist Order.
January 17, 2008: 12 Sumilao Farmers go back to Metro Manila, visited and talk
to schools and parishes.
March 3, 2007: 134 Sumilao farmers arrive to reinforce the twelve farmers
reaching the symbolic 144 strength.
March 4, 2007: Sumilao farmers Jericho March around Malacanang start
March 29, 2007: Settlement Agreement between SMC and the Sumilao farmers is
signed witnessed by Cardinal Rosales and Malacanang officials
March 30, 2007: Sumilao farmers, their families and supporters, jubilantly entered
and cultivated the 50 hectare donated property out of the contested 144
hectares.
October 10, 2010: Awarding of 97 hectares to the 163 Sumilao farmers acquired
by SMC from the neighboring landholdings and offered voluntarily for Sale to the
government.