Sumilao farmers of Bukidnon flash the Laban sign during a march rally from Fuente Osmeña to the Police Regional Office headquarters along Osmeña Boulevard in Cebu City. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
CAMARINES Sur Rep. Leni Robredo was their lawyer back in 2007.
Now, the farmers of Sumilao, Bukidnon province want to pay her back by campaigning for her vice presidential bid around the country.
Group leader Noland Peñas said they will not campaign for a common presidential candidate.
A dozen farmers arrived at the Port of Cebu at past 7 a.m. yesterday and held a caravan to the Fuente Osmeña circle.
“We are promoting Leni Robredo because she personally helped us and we saw her sincerity in helping the less fortunate,” Peñas said.
He said Robredo provided them free legal assistance through the non-government organization Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (Saligan), of which she was a part, 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 reclaim 197 hectares of their ancestral land.
This time, the farmers are undertaking a 3,750-kilometer caravan from Bukidnon to Quezon City from April 15 to May 7 to campaign for Robredo, the Liberal Party’s vice presidential candidate.
Peñas said they were on a cross-country trip, passing through the provinces of Cotabato, Davao, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Tacloban, Legazpi, Naga and Lucena, with the last stop at the Quezon City Memorial Circle. The 23-day caravan carries the theme: “Mga Nasa Laylayan ng Lipunan, Iaangat si Leni Para sa Bayan.”
Sumilao farmers arrived at the Cebu Port, their first stop in the Visayas, yesterday morning and were met by Robredo supporters here.
The group then kicked off a caravan at the Fuente Osmeña circle before they proceeded to the Pagtambayayong Foundation office in Cebu City.
Peñas said their group was scheduled to travel to Ormoc City last night. He said Sumilao farmers wanted to share their story and tell the Filipino people how Robredo helped shape it.
Peñas recounted that since their 2007 struggle, Sumilao farmers have managed to get back their land and form a cooperative of 160 farmers.