CL farmers appeal for higher buying price of palay
GUIMBA, Nueva Ecija – About 2,000 farmers from Central Luzon gathered in Nueva Ecija and called on President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to heed their pleas and raise the buying price of palay now prevailing at P15 to P14 per kilo or lower.
The farmers carried placards and chanted “Mr. President pakinggan mo kaming magsasaka! Presyo ng palay itaas, wag puro ayuda sa mga minalas” as they marched along the stretch of the Guimba Bypass Road.
The holding of the “Unang Sigaw ng Magsasaka” peace assembly, however, hit a snag after Mayor Jesulito Galapon reportedly cancelled their “permit to assemble” for supposed security reasons.
Town police head Lt. Col. George Calauad Jr. said they already blockaded a portion of the Bypass Road to enforce the mayor’s dispersal order.
“Hindi naman freedom park itong Bypass Road para basta basta eh puwede magsagawa ng people’s assembly,” said Calauad, in justifying the dismantling of a makeshift stage and the speaker and sound systems put up by the organizers in the area.
In the end, the farmers were somehow allowed to assemble in a portion of the Bypass Road as Calauad admitted they could no longer prevent it so they might as well just closely monitor the proceedings to prevent any untoward incidents.
Among those who spoke during the peace assembly in support of the farmers’ pleas were Magsasaka Party-list chairman and candidate for Nueva Ecija first district congressman Argel Joseph Cabatbat, former Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Montemayor, the first nominee of Magsasaka Party-list, senatorial bet and retired Marine Corps Colonel Ariel Querubin, board member bet Rodel Cabuyaban, and farmer-leader Joe Pangalilinan.
Serving as a temporary stage where the invited guests can be seen while delivering speeches were the several layers of cavans of newly-harvested palay stockpiled along the shoulder of the Bypass Road in the area.
Cabatbat hit Mayor Galapon for issuing the dispersal order, saying: “Gusto lang naman ng ating mga magsasaka na mapakinggan ang kanilang sentimyento, ang mabigyan sila ng pag-asa, ang mabigyan ng pagkakataon na mapansin sila at matulungan sa kanilang hinaing na maitaas ang presyo ng palay, kaya nga sinasabi nila na ito ang Unang Sigaw ng Magsasaka na tinatawag.”
