Farmers belonging to the Kahublagan sang Mangunguma sang Pilipinas yesterday slammed the provincial government of Negros Occidental government for what they called the use of brute force to bulldoze farms in Hacienda Ilimnan in Murcia town where the ranch of the province is located.

The group said in a statement sent by their Secretary General Felipe Levy Gele yesterday, that it also condemned the harassment of the farmers in Hacienda Ilimnan by members of government security forces such as the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police in the area.

DAR records show that the agency issued a notice of coverage on the contested 151 hectares of land in Hacienda Ilimnan and Arloc under CARP in 2012, although on the same year, the provincial government filed a petition for exemption from coverage after it purchased the property from the original owners, it said.

The petition has not yet been acted upon by the Center for Land Use Planning and Implementation, as the agency is asking the provincial government to submit several documents to prove its ownership of the land.

The contested land is located in the boundaries of both haciendas where the ranch run by the provincial government is also located.

Earlier, the Negros Occidental provincial government said that it is e not giving up Hacienda Ilimnan although a dialog was held between Provincial Legal Officer Jose Maria Valencia and the farmers claiming ownership of the land.

KMP also reported that about 100 farmers attended their 3rd Regional Assembly in Kabankalan City yesterday where they vowed to resist corporate and state-sponsored land-grabbing in Negros Island.*APN

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