Panay farmers, fishers demand agrarian, fisheries reforms

By Juliane Judilla

ILOILO CITY — Peasant and fisherfolk groups across Panay marked the 54th anniversary of Presidential Decree No. 27 on Oct. 21, 2026, by demanding genuine agrarian and fisheries reforms, government assistance for farmers affected by El Niño and other calamities, and stronger protections for rural livelihoods.

Issued by former President Ferdinand E. Marcos on Oct. 21, 1972, PD 27 sought to transfer ownership of tenanted rice and corn lands to farmers but limited its coverage to specific agricultural lands and required beneficiaries to pay amortizations over 15 years.

In Iloilo, peasant and fisherfolk organizations held a forum to discuss the continuing struggles of farmers and municipal fishers.

The gathering also featured Pasundayag, an art exhibit showcasing works by artists from various collectives and groups in the province.

The exhibit highlighted the struggles and demands of food producers who, despite sustaining the country’s food supply, remain among the poorest sectors of society.

The activities culminated in a picket protest in front of Jaro Metropolitan Church.

Farmers continue to till land they do not own

During the forum’s discussion on the conditions of farmers and fisherfolk, Lucia Capaducio of Paghugpong sang mga Mangunguma sa Panay kag Guimaras (PAMANGGAS) underscored the persistent problem of landlessness among farmers, many of whom continue cultivating land they do not own.

Capaducio also criticized the government’s response to the El Niño crisis, particularly the president’s remarks referring to a “balde” (bucket) as a response to the crisis.

She lamented that while the situation was treated as a joke, hundreds of farmers continued to suffer from the effects of El Niño.

Capaducio warned that continued government inaction could worsen the situation and lead to hunger among affected farming communities.

PAMANGGAS emphasized the need for immediate assistance to farmers facing crop losses and livelihood disruptions.

The group also called for long-term reforms to address landlessness and ensure farmers’ access to land and other productive resources.

Fisherfolk face back-to-back crises

Meanwhile, Nathaniel Baga-ut of Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA)-Panay highlighted the mounting challenges confronting the fisheries sector.

He said municipal fisherfolk were facing successive crises, with El Niño contributing to what he described as a lean fishing season.

Baga-ut warned that the upcoming closed fishing season in the Visayan Sea would place additional pressure on their livelihoods.

The annual three-month fishing restriction, scheduled from Nov. 15, 2026, to Feb. 15, 2027, covers sardines, herrings and mackerels in designated portions of the Visayan Sea to allow fish stocks to reproduce and recover.

Baga-ut also raised concerns over the implications of the Supreme Court’s Mercidar ruling, which he said was being invoked in Panay.

The controversy stems from a court decision involving Mercidar Fishing Corp. that raised questions about commercial fishing access to municipal waters traditionally reserved for small-scale fishers.

The Department of Agriculture challenged the ruling in January 2025, warning that allowing commercial fishing vessels into municipal waters could threaten small fishers’ livelihoods and marine ecosystems.

Baga-ut stressed the need for legislation to counter the ruling’s adverse effects on municipal fisherfolk and strengthen protections for their livelihoods and fishing rights.

The groups called for policies that would safeguard municipal waters for small-scale fishers.

They also urged the government to ensure that conservation measures and fisheries regulations do not further burden communities already struggling with declining incomes and limited access to fishing grounds.

Groups advance alternative reforms

Beyond highlighting the continuing problems faced by farmers and fisherfolk, the organizations presented legislative proposals they said could address the structural causes of rural poverty and livelihood insecurity.

Among these was the proposed Rice Industry Development Act (RIDA), which seeks to strengthen domestic rice production and support local farmers.

The measure was presented as an alternative to the effects of the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), which farmers have criticized for prioritizing rice imports at the expense of local producers.

Also discussed was House Bill No. 5606, or the proposed Atin ang Kinse Kilometro Act, which seeks to prohibit commercial fishing vessels from operating within the country’s 15-kilometer municipal waters.

Filed in October 2025, the measure seeks to restore exclusive fishing rights for small-scale and subsistence fisherfolk in these areas.

The organizations also pushed for the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB), which proposes the free distribution of agricultural lands to farmers.

The groups maintained that these legislative measures are necessary to protect local food producers and strengthen domestic agricultural production.

They also emphasized the need to ensure that land and fishing resources serve the interests of farming and fishing communities rather than large landowners and commercial operators.

Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill

In Aklan, farmers belonging to Pagtililibyog it Mangunguma sa Aklan (PANGUMA) also marked the anniversary of PD 27 by calling for the passage of House Bill No. 208, or the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB).

The group presented the proposed measure as an alternative to what it described as the limitations of existing agrarian reform programs.

Filed by members of the Makabayan bloc in the 20th Congress, House Bill No. 208 seeks to establish a comprehensive agrarian reform program through the free distribution of land and mechanisms intended to dismantle concentrated landownership.

Rachelle L. Trayco, vice chairperson of PANGUMA, said the anniversary remained relevant because the shortcomings of PD 27 had persisted under subsequent agrarian reform programs, including the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

“Hanggang ngayon, maraming kaso ng PD27 ang hindi pa nareresolba, marami nang tunay na benepisyaryo ang namatay na hindi man lamang nahawakan ang titulo ng kanilang mga lupang sinasaka,” Trayco said.

Trayco pointed to unresolved land disputes and the continued insecurity of agrarian reform beneficiaries, including some who died without receiving titles to the land they cultivated.

Trayco cited the situation of 45 Indigenous families on Boracay Island who, according to PANGUMA, face losing their residential and livelihood lands following the cancellation of Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) granted by the Department of Agrarian Reform in 2018.

The group said the case demonstrated how agrarian reform beneficiaries could remain vulnerable to displacement despite receiving government-issued land documents.

Trayco also questioned government claims of progress in agrarian reform, arguing that land title distribution and debt cancellation should not be the sole measures of success.

Republic Act No. 11953, or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, was enacted in July 2023 to cancel outstanding loans, unpaid amortizations and related interest and penalties of qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries.

The law covers PHP 57.557 billion in principal debt involving 610,054 beneficiaries cultivating more than 1.17 million hectares of agrarian reform land.

Trayco stressed that genuine reform must guarantee farmers’ long-term ownership and control of agricultural land, as well as their ability to use it productively to sustain their livelihoods.

PANGUMA further cited data it attributed to IBON Foundation indicating that more than 70% of farmers do not own the land they cultivate.

The group said the figure underscored what it described as the persistent failure of successive agrarian reform programs to resolve landlessness.

PANGUMA argued that PD 27 failed to dismantle land monopoly because its coverage was primarily limited to rice- and corn-producing lands and required farmer-beneficiaries to pay amortizations.

The decree also allowed landowners to retain up to seven hectares under specified conditions, a provision the group considered among the limitations of the original reform program.

It maintained that subsequent agrarian reform programs retained mechanisms that favored landowners, including compensation requirements, beneficiary amortization, exemptions and exclusions, and the conversion of agricultural lands to other uses.

Calls for land rights and support services

Alongside the passage of GARB, PANGUMA called for an end to land grabbing, forced evictions, militarization, red-tagging and violence against farmers and agricultural workers.

The organization also urged the government to prevent what it described as the destructive conversion of agricultural lands for the benefit of local and foreign capitalist interests.

It called for greater respect for the ancestral land rights of Indigenous Peoples and adequate government support services for farming communities.

Among the assistance measures sought were irrigation systems, affordable credit, fair palay prices, post-harvest facilities and technical assistance.

The groups emphasized that access to agricultural land must be accompanied by sufficient support to enable farmers to sustain production and earn decent incomes.

For the organizations, the 54th anniversary of PD 27 was more than a commemoration of a decades-old agrarian reform policy.

They said the occasion served as a reminder of the unresolved demands of farmers and fisherfolk for land rights, livelihood security and meaningful government assistance.

The groups maintained that genuine agrarian and fisheries reforms remain essential to protecting food producers, strengthening local agricultural and fisheries production, and securing a dignified life for Filipino farmers and fisherfolk.