Chapter 39– Leasehold System & Land Reforms w/ Nenita & William Dagohoy

By the middle of 1969, PANELFU has strengthened its educational and organizational efforts in many villages and municipalities in Iloilo and Panay. PANELFU leadership were now pushing for the next phase of Land Reforms-- pushing for leasehold contracts among its members, and demanding sharing basis of 75 per cent for farmers and 25 percent share for land owners. Production costs to handled by farmers.

The new arrangement will change the land tenancy system that provide a 50-50 per cent shares of harvest per crop season among farmers and the landowners. This system will make the leasehold farmers more independent of the management of their farms. They will be freed from interference by landowners.

Pushing for the leasehold system would be another level of struggle for the farmers. It will be hard. Most landowners wants to have strong control of the farmers. Here PANELFU was mobilized to train farmers to have strong, fast and decisive actions in implementing leasehold system.

In March 1971, William and Nenita Dagohoy of Dingle, Iloilo decided to push hard the leasehold system in their farms. They would work for the new sharing system of 75% share of farmers and 25% shares for landowner. If they succeeded this process will be implemented in some 10 villages that were pushing for land reforms in Dingle, Iloilo.

Most rice farms in Dingle were first class lands. There were irrigation system and rice were planted in the farms, three crops a year. One of the farms of Mrs. Dagohoy was upland farm. It was planted with rice for two crop year that June. Nenita Dagohoy was president of PANELFU in Dingle. There were more than 10 PANELFU chapters in Dingle. Seminars were held to train members for strong organized efforts in the implementation of land reforms.

Mrs. Nenita Dagohoy wrote a letter to the land owner. In her letter, she said: “This crop year, we will implement Land Reforms according to law. We request you to follow the provision of Land Reforms Law. We will handle all cost of productions. After harvest, you will get 25 percent. We will get 75 percent share of the harvest. This is according to the law”. Nenita Dagohoy signed her letter. She sent the letter from the Post Office by Registered Mail.

After receiving the letter the landowner was furious. They decided to take position of the land. He and his wife made a hard decision. They will take over position of the rice farm. They were ready to fight legal and extra- legal battles. They would take possessions of the land farmed by William and Nenita Dagohoy.

To assert their rights the landowner plowed the field with a big tractor. It was March, the start of the dry season. They harrowed the farm immediately. They got many workers and planted sugar cane seedlings on the whole fields, nearly two hectares. They get workers from another village. William and Nenita Dagohoy just watched as sugar canes were planted on their rice field. They did not move. They just kept silent as sugarcanes were planted. It started to sprout by end of May.

The Dagohoys planned their moves silently and secretly. They prepared for a struggle. They will make a peaceful fight to recover their lost rice field. Secretly, by mid-May, they sowed rice seeds in another field far from where the sugar canes were planted. They made sure the landowner would not know they have ready rice seedlings when rain come. When rain came that June, they mobilize the members of PANELFU.

They plowed the field newly planted with sugar cane seedlings during the night. They harrowed r the fields. Then together with some 50 PANELFU members, they planted immediately rice seedlings by the early sunlight. The next morning, the whole field with sprouting sugar canes the day before, were already planted with rice seedlings. It was a dramatic and decisive action by the farmers.

William took pictures of the rice field.that was now planted with rice seedlings. They sent their letter and pictures to the officials of the Department of Agrarian Reforms (DAR) in Iloilo City.

The landowners were not able to move. The farm was very peaceful. The members of PANELFU were in the houses nearby. It was a fight of nerves. It was a battle for the legal position of the land. Members of PANELFU helped guard and secure Nenita Dagohoy’s farm and home. They made sure, no tractor will enter the rice field and plant sugar cane again. It was a battle of the minds and nerves.

The landowner filed complaints in the court. Atty. Nicolas Centeno fought the case of the Dagohoys in Iloilo provincial court. The legal fight started and continued for years. But the positions of land were in the hands of William and Nenita Dagohoy. When it was time to harvest, the Dagohoy’s sent a letter to the owner. They asked the land owner to come and witnessed the harvest and sharing.

Mrs. Dagohoy told the landowner the date of harvest. The landowner must come. He will get the 25 percent land share. The Dagohoys will get the 75 percent which was according to law. If they will not come, Mrs. Dagohoy wil deposit the 25 percent which was their share in the municipal hall of Dingle.

Some farmers followed Dagohoy’s experiments. And some farms were freed from the aged- old tenancy system.

We continued our seminars, helping educate the farmers on land reform laws. We focused on provisions that gave farmers 75% share of harvests with 25% share for the landlords. It was hard. But some farmers decided to apply the leasehold system in the farms they were working.

Atty. Centeno continued to fight the cases of farmers in the courts. There were many successes. Many farmers succeeded to get 75% share of the farm harvests. But it was also hard fights in the courts. It was hard fighting and asserting rights for the farms. It needs courage and determinations. Many farmers succeeded. Some farmers gave up, specially when armed groups were mobilized by the landowners to take position of the land.

In September 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law. And to appease the restive peasants in the country, he declared land reforms in all rice and corn producing areas. These was used by President Marcos to strengthen his political control of the country.

We organized farmers and workers not anymore to get 75% of the harvests. We helped them so that the lands they were leasing will be awarded to them under the new Land Reform Law. The land owners will be paid for the land, on instalment based on the recommendation of the Department of Agrarian Reforms. The possibility of owning the lands tenanted or leased by farmers who were organized was now possible. Still it was a hard battle to fight.

Several groups of farmers in Dingle who were organized applied with the Department of Agrarian Reforms that the land they were tenants be awarded to them under the new law. Quite a number of tenants and leases were awarded the land. These happened in many towns here in Panay were farmers were organized and applied with the Department of Agrarian Reforms.

In February 1973, Frank Carilimdiliman came tp Carles and assisted me. Carles was the only town in Iloilo that were not benifited by the New Land Reforms law. Until that time, farmers in Carles were tenants that got 50 percent of rice harvest with land owners also getting 50 percent.

That day, we organized 14 farmers in Brgy. Cawayan, Carles, Iloilo to work for Land Reforms. The farmers who were members of “Samahang Nayon” an association that was organized after the President’s declared martial law in 1972. The farmers by this time were calling for the leasehold systems to be implemented immediately in our village.

We worked with the Department of Agrarian Reforms (DAR). They have several staff assigned to work with farmers. Some lawyers were assigned to work with Land Reforms beneificiaries in Northern Iloilo. There were 14 farmers who were members of the Cawayan association.

The farmers were headed by Rodolfo Bernal, President, Jose Bullo, Vice President; Martin Bullo, Secretary, Federico Bullos, Treasurer and Salvacion Geguera, member. We have 14 farmers who were members of the association. The farmers were pushing for the 75 per cent share for farmers and 25 per cent share for owners and for the government awards of the lands.

When harvest time came that October 1974, the farmers headed by Jose Bullo, Vice President of the association sent a letter to the land owner. He said, “Sir, we will implement Land Reforms in our farms. Please implement the fair sharing system now. After harvest, we will give you 25% of the harvest as land owners. We will get 75% share as leaseholders. You come on said date to get your share. If you fail to come, your share of 25%, we will deposit at Office of Treasurer, Carles Municipal Hall. Thank you. It was signed by Jose Bullo.

The leasee of the land who resided in Roxas City did not come during harvests. The 14 farmers in Cawayan, Carles got their 75% share. They deposited all the 25 percent share of the landowner to the Office of the Treasurer at the Municipal Hall.

This was how the 14 tenant farmers in Cawayan, Carles, Iloilo implemented the first part of the Land Reforms Law. A number of farmers in Carles also applied the Land Reform Law and received the new sharing of the rice harvest. The government awarded later the land to them.

Now 38 years have passed since President Marcos declared Land Reforms during his martial rule for rice and corn. Many of these rice and corn farms were not awarded to farmers in many parts of the country. The Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac owned by the Cojuanco and Aquino families remained untouched by the Land Reforms Law. They were too powerful that the decisions of the Supreme Court was never implemented until today.

The same with the big lands in Negros Occidental owned by Danding Coquanco remaind untouched. He converted the rice and corn lands to coconut lands so that Land Reform could not be implemented on his vast tracts of rice and corn lands.

The struggle for land reforms continued. Our generation has failed to win the struggle. But the younger generations will continue the fight to recover the land God had given for all Filipinos to have decent lives. For the lands were taken over by the elites and oligarchs.