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Farmers hit PH special envoy to Gulf states for agri deal

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MANILA, Philippines—A peasant group on Friday urged the House of Representatives’ agrarian reform and agriculture committees to investigate a $300-million agricultural land lease deal inked by Amable Aguiluz V, a special envoy to the Gulf states, and the government of Bahrain.

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas urged the House committees concerned to shoot down the deal, which allots a 10,000-hectare area in Davao del Norte province in Mindanao to produce food crops for Bahrain.

KMP secretary general Danilo Ramos referred to a joint venture, called “RP Harvest,” between the Aguiluz family’s AMA Group Holdings and Bahrain’s Hassan Group to cultivate bananas, rice and other crops in Mindanao. He said it was launched two years ago ostensibly  “to ensure Bahrain’s food security and promote the agribusiness sector.”

‘Totally revolting’

“This so-called joint venture smacks of land-grabbing and conflict of interest on the part of President Aquino’s political lieutenant in the Gulf,” Ramos charged.

“It is totally revolting that our lands are being devoted to the food security needs of other nations while the Filipino farmers suffer increasing landlessness, hunger, and poverty,” said Ramos.

“Ambassador Aguiluz, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Agrarian Reform have a lot of explaining to do regarding this massive sell-out of our lands. A no-holds-barred probe on Aguiluz is in order,” Ramos stressed.

“Obviously, this irresponsible and massive sell-out of our lands to foreigners is being done by the country’s political ambassadors with the blessings of the landlord President,” the peasant leader said.

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Tags: $300-million agricultural land lease deal , AMA Group Holdings , Amable Aguiluz V , Bahrain’s Hassan Group , government of Bahrain , Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas , special envoy to the Gulf states

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  • Anonymous

    Pnoy, if you listen all these leftists-communists in the Ph using farmers, fishermen, etc, the country cannot move forward since their target is bring the country down to the the drain, OK? these communist groups  aims to destroy the democracy of the country, ERADICATE THEM ALL, OK?

    • Anonymous

      yan naman talaga ang agenda ng communist movement. make the people poor and agitate trouble. their purspose is to topple down the governemnt and take it over. para sila ang maghari by decree

  • Anonymous

    This is an act of TREASON. Imagine, we lease 10,000 hectares to foreigners while we have problem on food here in our country. Talaga itong mga Chinese Dominated Government natin. Wala nang ginawang mabuti para sa mga Pinoy. Puro benta diyan, pa lease dito, sa Q.C. nga, pina lease o kaya, benta nang ating “Chinese Dominated Government” ang 240 hectares of government land sa Q.C. at the expense of the Filipino people. Hindi ba alam nang taong bayan na lahat nang LUpa na pagma-mayari nang gobyerno ay lupa nang taong bayan? Hwag tayong papayag na ang mga “Chinese sa mataas na katungkulan sa Gobyerno   ay    gumawa nang mga katiwalian katulad nang lease na 10,000 hectares sa Bahrain.  

    May roon tayong problema sa ma higit na million magsasaka na nagnanais nang sarili nilang lupa. Tapos, ganoon lang, pa lease mo ang lupa natin. THAT IS TREASON, and that diplomatic officer should be put to jail or else, let him jump the plung and feed to the sharks.

    Alam ba ninyong sa Chinese ownership na ang 64 hectares nang VMMC? Mantakin mo pati Philippine Veterans Hospital Compound, binigay narin sa Chinese, samantalang ang mga kawawa nating informal settlers hindi nila lutasin sa pamamagitan nang pagbigay nang libreng lupa? Pati ang Q.C  home for the aged, binagbili narin.

    • Anonymous

      bok, if you have a better proposition how to create wealth, how to generate employment, how to increase the collection of the government—-do it.
      otherwise, if you cannot even invest even half of the cent of the money you have, better keep your faulty opinion to yourself

  • Anonymous

    All expenses for this farm are being paid for by the Government of Bahrain, and our Government are earning money for the lease and our people have jobs in this Farms.

    Communist Pigs, STFU, we have lots of land to tilt, instead of going after farms that are earning money for our Government, you should go and plant your own somewhere else.

    Government in the Middle east without arable land have been doing this to other countries for decades now, and we can feel ourselves lucky to be pick even though we are located thousand miles away.

    • Anonymous

      Manuel II … I am with you here… more importantly, since I am from the outside looking in so to speak… whatever financial gains from the venture should be distributed equitably to the farmers… this is only a lease (accdg. to the article)…. the government determines the lease’s length of time, and they have the same authority to either renew it or not… what the article didn’t say was “how long would they lease the land ? and also how much those farmers will be compensated during the period…. so let’s all settle down and look into what was in the contract. 

      The bottom line is… Aguiluz pays the government taxes from the profit…. Filipino farmers get the just compensation for the work para patas….

      • Anonymous

        I agree with you, as long as everyone is getting paid for their part and are happy, there is nothing to be discuss, of course it would be different if outsiders (those who didn’t do anything) want’s to claim something, now, that would be lame.

      • Anonymous

        Manuel_II… I appreciate the response… now there are other pieces to the pie that need to be addressed… when they have settled about the money issue, the government and the company need to give an accountability on the following issues;

        #1. Environmental issues – allocation of the land to cultivate which would alter the landscape and affect the natural habitat of wildlife thus preserving the forest and other surrounding areas, natural barriers which would prevent flash floods for example…etc. etc…

        #2. Use of pesticides and agricultural products like fertilizers and their beneficial and catastrophic effect upon the land and people. These agricultural products when they seep underground are notorious in contaminating the source of underground drinking water and when they reach the sea, also affect marine life, and like a vicious cycle, the contaminated seafood ultimately ends on our tables.

        So, let us be mindful of these issues as there are more to the financial aspect of the venture.

        I am sure that there will be more issues that will crop out but the word is VIGILANCE… and the farmers are called upon to participate actively by educating themselves about their right and just compensation for their work, the environmental impact, and their health when it involves the use of agricultural products to boost productivity. 

        Let’s continue the conversation.   Cheers !

      • Anonymous

        informed farmers could rise from their marginalized conditions

      • Anonymous

        ito ang dapat tingnan ng mga supposedly peasant leaders if they are real leaders.: care of the land, care of the workers, care of the environment, care of the income for the governemnt

    • Anonymous

      i concur…kaya, di ako lubusang palo sa land reform program na “inagaw” na ang productive land tapos ibigay sa farmers tapos ibenta naman sa farmers ang riceland at pinatayuan ng warehouse or housing subdivision
      dapat sa land reform ay new lands, the idle lands. tulad sa ginawa sa nag migrate sa Palawan at Mindanao. the new settlers cultivated new lands.

  • Anonymous

    Thailand, China, has been doing this land-lease for middle-eastern countries years ago.
    We also have them for some African nations…hence these accussations of these so-called ‘farmers’ are just a bunch of black propaganda.
    it is tatally revolting that these farmers opted to join militant groups instead of working in the fields and founding cooperative groups to help their work.
    Bulok talaga ang style ninyong mga pakawala ng komunista.

    • Anonymous

      Bok, I completely agree with your statement. Galing mo…

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/PBI5I5VSPOLJF7EPB57EZN7NVM Rikki

    We inked a similar deal with a Chinese firm last year or 2 years ago… Nagpapagamit naman ang pamahalaan natin. Hindi dapat ganito nangyayari sa atin. Business nga ito pero wala bang natitirang dignidad para sa atin mga Pilipino? Mahiya naman kayo!!!!

  • Anonymous

    ganyan ang istilo na suggestion ko sa magsasaka ng Hacienda Luisita… makipag-contract sila sa Singapore o anumang bansa na may pangangailangan ng pagkain…

    hahh
    hahahh
    aahhaa

    • Anonymous

      tama….may lupa tayo, at may pera naman ang iba.
      other corprate agribuness firms are in Cambodia since they were welcomed to develop their land as productive they could do

  • Anonymous

    bakit nag reklamo ang farmers? inagaw ba ang lupa sa kanila?
    kung talagang sila ay maka bayan, bakit hindi sila mag tanim at ibenta ang sobra nilang produkto para may extra income sila?
    siguro naman mg idle lands ang ma develop for agri business.
    ma employ pa ang mga farmers as farm hands, as seasonal workers, at office workers.
    duda ko, takot ang nangungulo sa samhan nila kasi kung gainfully employed na ang mga kasamahan nila, wala na silang control.
    walang nang magatasan ang mga pulpol na farmer-leaders kuno sa kanilang paki baka.
    these peasant leaders do not want improvement in the lives of the farmers. they want to perpetuate the impoverished conditions of the farmers because they have a political base to harras the government for more concession that benefits them only, not/not the constituency they represent.

  • Mamang Pulis

    Life must be hard for geezers like manong mando & mr tiglao ‘ the askals tasked to sheperd the yellow lab’ hehehehe….I will include manong conrad though his eloquence exudes an elegance in biting off the foes of his president.  

    you can’t teach old dogs new tricks….sabi nga. 

     I’m learning from them, I admit.   

    But not ‘uto-uto’ [gullible] to whatever they dish out.

  • Anonymous

    you are good in advocacy work, Bro. i wish, even on a one on one basis you can speak with the affected farmers.
    i saw several corporate farms which were once productive, e.g., mango plantation, but were no longer usable after the so called militant peasant groups started to agitate farmer-worker and abandoned the mango farm.
    nawala ang negosyo ng may-ari ng farm. nawalan na rin nang hanapbuhay ang mga magsasaka na dati nag trabaho sa mango farm.  their respective families are in constant guessing game where to get their next meal.
    pero ang may-ari, ay may ibang negosyo—-int’l trading. he lost his farm, but, he is not impoverished, nor in despair where to get his next meal.

  • Anonymous

    binabasa ko naman ang lahat. pero hindi lahat na nabasa ko ay nagbigay ako ng feedback. namimili lang din ako.
    may laman naman ang sinasabi mo eh. otherwise, why would i bother making a comment.

  • Anonymous

    Thanks, brod…it would be good if | could do it. But distance and time wouldn’t permit me.
    I just based my comments to what I saw, experienced and heard. Specially i have several relatives who were once among the high-level cadres in the NPA-movement in Region 7.
    I also came from a family of farmers; my non-educated late grandfather used to only be a hired-help in the fields. He was able to have his own 7-tracts of lands (approx. 1-hectare each) by sheer determination, savings, hard work and prayers. Considering he has 7-children to feed and send to school then, and him a no-read, no write person, that was for me a great feat. And yes, he did not rely upon land reform to have his own land. Aside from the field works, he makes copra and nipa sheets (for nipa houses). He makes use of his idle time by being productive as much as possible.
    With cooperatives, that was based on my own experience when I was working with a semiconductor company then. We had no labor union there (thank goodness!), instead we had grievances committee and cooperatives to help out the employees. It was a success, and still that company is still standing and strong there in Cavite. I came from Meralco Foundation Institute (batch ?) where we were taught to love our craft, be principled and never na ipagsiksikan ang sarili sa kompanyang hindi na kami magiging masaya pa (umaalis kami ng kusa na lang).
    Sadly kasi labor unions and militants (majority of them) in the Philippines are only good in airing their comments, grievances and making rallies. They should realize it is much better to build cooperatives rather than make rallies. Look at the drivers’ association for example. Why couldn’t they make their own spare parts’ stores who would cater for themselves at a much lower cost? Why not they pool their resources and build gasoline stations for them only? Why couldn’t they make savings, insurance and livelihood programs for members and its families? Why couldn’t they make their members professional drivers in the real sense of it by conducting symposiums, trainings, seminars?



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