Newsmaker: 40 Marchers Demand Genuine Agrarian Reform
Forty rural activists marched for about 15K yesterday to demand genuine agrarian reform in our country. They started from the Quezon City Memorial Circle to the House of Representatives Complex. Forty people. It may be a small number to some. In fact, it’s just the size of a class. But we can’t doubt the passion of these people - their genuine desire for reform.
Let’s try to put ourselves in their shoes for a moment. Let’s say we want to organize a group that will go to Washington DC to ask the US Congress to give us compensatory damages for the American military invasion of the Philippines in 1899. People who want to join have to pay for their own flights and accommodation. Would it be easy to organize something like that? I doubt if we’ll be able to round up 40 people.
So let’s not belittle their efforts yesterday. Our poor countrymen from the provinces organized a trip to Manila to ask the Philippine Congress to scrap the extension of the existing agrarian reform law and replace it with Anakpawis Party-list Rep Crispin Beltran’s House Bill 3059, the Genuine Agrarian Reform Act of 2007. This bill was co-authored by Bayan Muna Reps Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casino and Gabriela Reps Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan.
If you don’t believe the 5 party-list representatives and the 40 marchers when they say that the present land reform law isn’t working and it should be replaced by a more genuine one, then maybe you’ll take the word of 96 heads of state who signed a Declaration in 2006. The 96 governments recognize the essential role of agrarian reform and rural development in the fight against poverty.
For us urbanites who love to talk, I hope we can squeeze in the issue of land reform in between our lengthy discourses about the newly-revived NBN-ZTE controvery. And for those of us who love to walk, perhaps we can join the rural activists in their march for emancipation.
See also:Philippine Land Reform, Spanish Poet Vicente Aleixandre and Congress Joke (April 26, 2008 Perlas)
Paalala ng Pasimuno ng People Power
Quote of the Day: Paul Anthony Samuelson
“The problem is no longer that with every pair of hands that comes into the world there comes a hungry stomach. Rather it is that, attached to those hands are sharp elbows.” — Paul Anthony Samuelson (May 15, 1915 - ), US economist, Nobel Prize laureate
Life is Fun: International Conscientious Objectors’ Day
Today is International Conscientious Objectors’ Day. A conscientious objector is someone who refuses to bear arms or participate in military service, on the basis of religious or moral principles. Here’s a story about a weary soldier on a train:
A battle weary American soldier boarded a crowded train in London during the early days of post-WWII, only to discover he was unable to find a place to sit. As he walked the length of the train, he noticed a small white dog curled up on one of the seats. A large, well dressed woman sat in the seat next to the dog. The man hovered near the seat, hoping the woman would take the hint, but she pointedly ignored him.
“Excuse me, Ma’am,” the soldier finally spoke, “Is this your dog? Would you mind holding it on your lap so that I may sit down?”
The woman raised her icy gaze to the young man and said in a haughty British accent, “Oh! You Americans. You are so rude. Fluffy is in that seat, and I see no reason why she should give up her comfort for you.”
The exhausted soldier nodded, picked up the small dog, leaned over, opened the window of the moving train and tossed the dog out. The woman gaped and spluttered in horrified indignation, and the man sitting across from her lowered his newspaper.
“You Americans”, he said, “You drive on the wrong side of the road, you eat with the wrong fork, and you just threw the wrong bitch out the window.”
The Power of the Word
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. —Psalm 34: 6
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About this post:
This is the daily post of Lester Galvez Cavestany entitled Perlas. The information here is presented to you in bite-sized servings so that it’s quick and fun to read. It has four parts: 1) Newsmaker - news and views that matter to you; 2) Quote of the Day has history, quotes and biography tidbits; 3) Life is Fun gives you a healthy dose of medicinal laughter; 4) And lucky last, we have The Power of the Word which can serve as your daily spiritual bread.
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Sources:
Image:
After the Day’s Toil - Vicente Alvarez Dizon — http://www.freewebs.com/stevendizon/index.htm
Life is Fun:
http://jokes4all.net/jokes/soldiers/jokes.html
3 Responses to “March for Genuine Agrarian Reform, International Conscientious Objectors Day, Paul Samuelson Quote”
Thats only half a class in the Philippine scene. Enough to fortify my agreement with many hungry souls that the CARP is totally wrong and created lazy pseudo farmers and their evil cohorts in the DAR.
Well, since the CARL’s intent was to make the Filipinos happy even for just a moment to prod them to vote, an emendment is quite in order. I Have not read that new bill but I wish it will include; abort the present CARL, take back all agri lands, rent it out to the real farmers, agri-coops. For the happy perk, give every citizen sans chinese and foriegn blood coming of age his very own choice of a home lot anywhere that will go back to the pool upon his demise. There will be no more crooked RDs, no lying DA, no land squabbles, no court congestions, no more hungry marchers but happy enterprising people.
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I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Rep Crispin Beltran. May “Ka Bel” rest in peace.
http://www.filipinovoices.com/anakpawis-representative-crispin-beltran-is-dead
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Problem there is that everyone has his idea of what is genuine and what is fake. “Genuine” as in genuine land reform becomes debatable. What constitute genuine land reform?
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Feel free to express your self