Pilar, Bataan -- “May mga gumagapas ng palay ninyo, Inang Estelita!!” (Some strangers are harvesting your palay Inang Estelita!)

The harried warning of a neighbor jolted 71 year-old Estelita Valencia in her seat at her home at Barangay Ala-uli, Pilar, Bataan morning of last October 16. Summoning her 72 year old husband Gregorio Valencia Sr. and all her 13 sons and daughters, they hurriedly rushed to their farm-lot some three kilometers away in Barangay Amingay to confront whoever it was robbing them of their produce.

The whole family found on their 4.5 hectare paddies 60 unfamiliar farm workers some of whom were already carrying bundles of sickled stalks and feeding them to the thresher to separate the grains while others continue to reap the rest of their ripe palay to which they have poured countless hours of grueling labor and production expenses borrowed at usurious rates.

A certain Rodolfo Quicho from Balanga, Bataan, said to be a big landlord was personally directing the work. He was supported by at least six fully armed elements of the Pilar town police lead by a certain SPO4 Evangelista. Three of the other five police elements were identified by the Valencias as a Gabar, a Santiago and a Santos, most of them were in civilian clothes.

Two days earlier on Oct 14, they were ready to harvest their produce with 25 of their own hired farm workers but were prevented by the same Quicho who was also aided then by the same SPO4 Evangelista and three other Pilar Police.

“Walang gagapas ng palay na iyan! Kung marami kayo mas marami pa sa inyo ang dadalhin ko!” (No one will harvest that palay! If you have that number I will bring in more!), Evangelista allegedly threatened then.

Further cultivation of the conflict revealed that the ownership of the rice land to which the disputed produce was planted was being contested by Quicho.

Original cultivators

The Valencia swear they had cultivated the land and since 1969. They were named as the rightful tenant of two parcels of rice lands separated by a narrow canal under the Presidential Decree No. 27 or Marcos Land Reform and were awarded Transfer Certificates Titles (TCT) No. 475 for 13,081 square meters and TCT No. 476 28,391 square meters covering the totality of the said parcels. Both were issued by the Department of Agrarian Reform Bataan in October 1988.

The Valencia family have incurred a total of P900,000.00 in debt from an Evelyn Tria of Bagumbayan, Balanga, in sustaining the production and their other needs through the years. Tria convinced the family to hand over to her the two titles as a guarantee to their debt. It was a shock for the Valencia family to learn later that Tria had already sold their land to Quicho for P1,200,000.00.

“Pineke ni Tria ang aking pirma, at pinalabas pa niyang patay na ang ang aking asawa para isa na lang ang pirmang kailangan nilang gamitin!” Evelyn Tria forged my signature (on the authority to sell) and even made it appear that my husband Gregorio is already dead so they would only need one signature, Inang Estelita alleged.

“Kahit inaagaw nila ang aming lupa tinamnan pa rin namin dahil yun ang ang aming buhay mula’t-mula, ngayon pati ang produkto na pinagpaguran namin at binuhusan ng utang na puhunan ay inaagaw pa ng mga panginoong maylupa”, They are grabbing our land yet, we planted on it as it is our only source of sustenance ever since, now these landlords are taking away even the produce which we have worked hard on and poured borrowed capital to, Inang Estelita added

Anger and consternation gripped the Valencias as they vainly seek the intervention of the town’s local leaders. Pilar Vice Mayor Pablo Nohay can only advise the family to file charges of theft against Quicho. Quicho later on the day was able to complete the harvest and have stashed the produce.

Vice Mayor Nohay, in a brief interview with this writer said it is not so easy for the local government to intervene since the land conflict had already been submitted to the court for trial. He added though that he will continuously seek a “win-win” solution and wishes that the landlord will be considerate enough to let the Valencia have the harvested palay since they were the ones who planted it.

The town Mayor and the local police chief were not available for comment. xxx