Activists hold a demonstration in front of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Manila, on Wednesday, calling for the immediate release of 71 farmers detained in Kidapawan, Cotabato province. The group condemned the violent dispersal of drought-stricken farmers last April 1.(MNS photo)
NORTH COTABATO (Mabuhay) – Seventy-six farmers who participated in a rally that led to a bloody clash with police forces in Kidapawan, Cotabato this month have been released on bail.
According to Atty. Sarah Villamor of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), 76 out of the total 78 farmers have been released from the Cotabato District Jail as of 2 a.m. Saturday.
Villamor said only two individuals identified as Ruben Carlos Mangga and Ponciano de la Pena Paunil remained in jail. Their names were not included in the release order signed by Judge Rebecca De Leon of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) in Kidapawan City.
NUPL lawyers and Karapatan paralegals on the ground constantly worked for the bail and directly facilitated the actual release of the farmers.
Celebrities, private individuals and other concerned sectors helped raise the money for the bail bond of the farmers.
A Senate hearing on the case is set on April 20. The court is meanwhile set to hear the motion for reconsideration on the denial of motion to quash the case filed by the police against the farmers on April 25.
A pre-trial conference of the three accused for frustrated homicide – Crisanto Carlum, 72; Gerardo Pequero, 66; and Mark Henry Delgado, 33 – is set on May 4.
Meanwhile, two farmers identified as Darwin Magyao and Alfie Awe were reportedly taken out by police from the hospital, brought to the police station and afterwards fetched supposedly via a vehicle of the mayor of Arakan.
The El Niño-hit protesters had been demanding for the release of 15,000 sacks of rice subsidy when their three-day rally along the national highway ended in a bloody melee last April 1.
At least two farmers were killed in the dispersal while scores were wounded, including several policemen who sustained critical injuries.
The El Niño has gripped the country since December 2015, drying up farmlands and hitting food production, especially in the conflict-wracked south where residents are mainly reliant on agriculture.
Seven provinces and 12 cities have been placed under a state of calamity due to the widespread effects of the weather pattern.
As of last March, a total of 252,176 hectares of agricultural land nationwide have been affected by the extreme heat, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The DA added that this resulted in a loss of 383,743 metric tons in agricultural production, equivalent to P5.53 billion.
State weather bureau PAGASA, however, warned Friday that the peak of the dry season won’t be felt until May. (MNS)