The Way Forward: Agrarian Reform vs. Industrialization
The Way Forward: Agrarian Reform vs Industrialization
Sol Samodio
Observation
When it comes to the conversation of agrarian reform, I instinctively recall how the Philippines fall far behind compared to neighboring countries such as Taiwan and South Korea in that regard. When I learned that at some point in our history, we were head to head with these countries economically, it’s hard to imagine such a fact given our current conditions. How is it that the Philippines fell short on achieving economic stability?
When we had a class activity to simulate a negotiation between the government, business industry, landowners, and landless farmers, it was only then I experienced a very small taste of the bigger frustrations Filipino people face in the cycle of poverty our country is in. It was definitely against my will to act out as one the business people capitalizing a piece of land with the sole purpose of gaining on our end. I even failed to realistically mimic their harsh conditions as I would try to propose various solutions to compensate for the losses of landless farmers who would be compromised in our agreement. In the reality of this country, these people in business would strut their feathers to the landowners and give them all sorts of short-term benefits so they are all the more convinced to sell. The businesses do not actually care about the laborers that work in these lands, but rather see them as a nuisance. When our professor was narrating the ways in which these people would mercilessly kill and terrorize farmers to prevent further peasant uprisings, as well as commit arson to landowners so that they would be forced to sell their land, I was distraught to be reminded that this is how it goes in this country. What’s worse, these cash-grabbing transactions circulate among local monopolies, and the people who are a part of these monopolies are also the people seated to govern us. So the attempts to genuine agrarian reform have been less than genuine in our country, because the people in power have bent the rules of the laws that would create progressive change in our country for their own gain. In the economic and environmental status of our country, rural industrialization will greatly benefit the country but the overarching path to achieve this is through the pursuit of a genuine agrarian reform.
Insight
The implementation of a genuine agrarian reform encompasses the promotion of rural industrialization and social justice. Essentially, the avenues for rural industrialization would have more potential if there is an established agrarian reform present in our country. Industrialization, when pursued without a genuine agrarian reform, will not fundamentally change the plights of our farmers and farmworkers. Agrarian reforms sought for the redistribution of agricultural land to landless farmers, as well as to address the issues of food security, poverty, and sustainability. In order for us to understand why pursuing a genuine agrarian reform is necessary for our country, we first need to understand why we could not properly establish it for the longest time.
Before the Spanish Colonial period, our lands were communally owned by local families. They placed less emphasis on the land itself as what is valuable, but rather the labor that is put into cultivating it. Then came the Spanish colonizers, who enforced the division of land to people of status. This shift to communal ownership to private ownership had primarily shaped the Philippine economy as we know it. Being under the encomienda system of plantations, the economic source of income of that time was cash crop agriculture, and these are tenant-farmers working and residing in land owned by wealthy landlords or principalia. The farmers became tenants; paying landlords for the right to cultivate the land. This exploitative system further perpetuated the lack of economic stability among Filipinos.
After the rule of Spain ended, the Americans followed soon after. Their goal was to ensure improvements from economic setbacks brought about by the Spanish colonial rule and the Philippine Revolution. They had the initiative to redistribute land to 60,000 tenants, but the Filipinos were too poor to pay for it, and the lands dedicated for the Catholic Church settlements ended up in the hands of big American corporations and the principalia. The Americans are also not in favor of Land Distribution as they were mostly focused on preserving land rights, another way for the wealth to stay within their side. Just like that, it’s business as usual for the wealthy classes while Filipinos continue to sink below the poverty line.
So from these recollections of our colonial roots, we can point out that our dire situation was brought about by the colonial administrations. Through an election to choose members of the ruling class, it is no doubt that local-land owning elites are put into position because of their status. Regional politicians had a tight grip on their assets and enhanced their powers. Even after gaining our national independence, the vignette of the ruling classes’ corruption continues to bleed through our dwindling economy. Many Philippine presidents created land reform measures, such as CARP (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program) and CARPER (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program with Extension Reforms), but these presented many major loopholes that did not benefit landless farmers nor solve our struggles with poverty. Why is that? It is simply because these people in power, an example would notably be President Corazon Aquino, are landowners themselves. Millions and millions of hectares are owned by many political dynasties, they themselves evade the very laws they are trying to implement. These politicians, the land-grabbing, subdivision-making, money-hungry moguls are the people that the Filipinos are voting into office. Again, why? Our people fall into the trap of promise, congeniality, and popularity. What of credentials and competency if one can pay their way into office or be born from a prominent family? This is the reality we face and why we are in the constant loop of poverty.
Learning
From this experience of looking into the roots of our economic despair, it has further ensued my frustration towards our current system. I was previously aware of the surface-level ills that the people in power demonstrate, yet revisiting our colonial roots and the history of our national governance, it is all the more alarming and dire than I could have imagined. With this, it is crucial that we exercise our right to vote seriously and elect leaders that are for the people.
Comments
Post a Comment