Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo was their defender way back in 2007.
Now, farmers from Sumilao in Bukidnon wanted to give back by campaigning for Robredo’s election as the country’s next vice president.
The group of about a dozen farmers is traveling to various parts of the country to campaign for Robredo.
They arrived at the ports of Cebu past 7 a.m. on Friday and did a caravan to the Fuente Osmeña circle.
“Among gibandera diri si Leni Robredo tungod kay personal siya nga nakatabang ug among nakit-an ang iyang sensiradad nga pagtutuk sa hut-ong sa katilingban”, said Noland Peñas, Sumilao lumad farmers group leader.
Robredo, he said, provided them free legal assistance through the Non-Government Organization Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (Saligan) where she was a part of, during their struggle to get back their land.
In 2007, Sumilao lumad farmers staged a 28-day hunger strike in Quezon and Cagayan de Oro cities to dramatize their demand to get back 197-hectares of their ancestral land.
This time, farmers will hold a 3,750-kilometer caravan from Bukidnon to Quezon City from April 15 to May 7 to express their support for Robredo, the Liberal Party’s vice presidential candidate.