The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas  (KMP), its regional chapters in Eastern Visayas the Samahan han Gudti ng Parag-uma-Sinirangan Bisaya (SAGUPA-SB) and its Southern Tagalog chapter the Katipunan ng mga Samahang Magbubukid sa Timog Katagalugan (KASAMA-TK) assailed the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for always endangering peasant lives and livelihood during their military operations. 

According to Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos, secretary general of KMP, “just today more than 2,000 peasants have evacuated from their homes and fields in Tiaong, Quezon because of the continuing pursuit operations being conducted by the AFP against the New People’s Army (NPA). They are now in Tiaong’s Municipal Hall, conducting a dialogue with the mayor calling for a stop of the military operations, because we know from experience that after the operations our homes would be ransacked by the military, our animals killed and our fields destroyed,”

“From Brgy. Catabang, 750 individuals evacuated, Brgy.Lusac 45 individuals, Brgy. Anastacia 210 individuals, Brgy. Lagalag 59 individuals, Brgy. Cabatang 506 individuals, Brgy. Lumingon 24 individuals, Brgy.Lusacan 112 individuals, and Brgy. Talisay 45 individuals. An 18 year old teenager named Roderick Olveda was also caught in the crossfire and is in critical condition. What is worse than having our farms and homes destroyed though is that the military usually say that we are NPA supporters or NPAs ourselves and massacre us. This what usually happens when they could not catch NPAs or are too afraid to pursue them. Recent examples are that of the Hacienda Luisita massacre and that of the Palo massacre,” added the peasant leader.

Meanwhile Ka Lito Gacusana, secretary general of SAGUPA-SB said, “The military was able to intervene in the land dispute in San Agustin causing the massacre under the cover of the DAR-AFP-DILG Memorandum Circular No. 5,signed a couple of years ago stating that the military and the police can be called upon by the Department of Agrarian Reform in implementing the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). We have opposed the implementation of this memo since day 1. Now that it caused a massacre, the more we will work for its scrapping,” # # #
 

KMP - 23 November 2005