30 hurt as armed men open fire at protesters in Bukidnon

About 30 people were hurt Wednesday when armed men allegedly fired shots to disperse a group of protesting farmers in a ranch in Bukidnon, an official of a volunteer group assisting the farmers said.

The farmers were camped in Montalban Ranch in Maramag town to call on the government to distribute 200 hectares of the land to them, according to Joseph Coles of Task Force Mapalad.

“Pinaulanan talaga sila ng bala. Mabuti na lang at madaling nakahanap ng cover ang mga magsasaka (The armed men opened fire. It’s good that the farmers were able to take cover),” Coles told GMANews.TV in a phone interview.

He said two security guards of the ranch told the farmers at around 8 a.m. to “be careful” of the “coming goons.”

The armed men, who were on board dump trucks, arrived at around 10 a.m. and asked the protesters to leave the area, Coles said.

“Pinagsisipa pa nga ‘yung ibang babae para umalis na kaagad (They even kicked some of the women so that the protesters would leave the area),” he said.

When the farmers refused to leave the ranch, the armed men started firing shots at the protesters from afar at around 12 p.m., injuring some 30 protesters.

Coles said the armed men may have been sent by owners of the ranch, who wanted to hold on to the land.

The Montalban ranch was owned by Pablo Lorenzo until 2009, when the businessman’s lease agreement with the government expired. Farmers have since asked the government to distribute 200 hectares of the ranch to them, which are currently being used for cattle grazing.

“Mga tao dapat ang makinabang diyan at hindi mga baka (People should use the land not cattle),” Coles said.

He said the farmers, with the help of their lawyers, are planning to file charges against the ranch’s management due to the violent dispersal of their “peaceful” protest. – KBK, GMANews.TV