Reports from correspondents:
Peasant campaigns in the Ilocos region

Basahin ang artikulong ito sa Pilipino

Reduction in "resiko." The farmers were able to reduce to a mere 3.75% (or three kilos for every 80 kilos) the weight shaved off the tobacco bought by trading centers (TC). The TCs used to shave off 10% due to resiko (reduction in the weight of tobacco due to loss of moisture) and the weight of the sacks and bamboo used to hold the tobacco leaves, among others.

Abolition of "sortido." The farmers also succeeded in having the sortido system abolished, which they have long been campaigning for. Sortido refers to the system of grading the quality of tobacco. The peasants used to lose a lot of money through the sortido system because the TCs arbitrarily and fraudulently lowered the grade of the tobacco they bought from the farmers.

Raising coffee prices. Farmers successfully raised coffee prices in a cluster of barrios in three municipalities in Ilocos Sur to P60-P65 per salop (three liters dry measure). The price had previously been pegged at P45 per salop for six years. Coffee is the main crop cultivated by farmers in the area. The peasants waged collective action to assert their demands before the sole merchant who monopolized the purchase of coffee beans in the area.

Resisting fraud in CLTs. In Cabugao, Ilocos Sur, farmers are waging a fierce campaign to recover lands seized from them. They had discovered that their landlord was selling 32 hectares of land that they had been amortizing for 15 years. PNREDC, the company that wants to buy the land, tried to force them to sign a document stating that it owned the land. The company failed to convince the farmers to sign; instead, the peasants spontaneously rose in resistance. The farmers have since learned the the necessity of asserting their demands in an organized way. In the process, their level of militancy has been raised and their resistance has intensified. Peasants from other barrios have also joined their mass actions. Presently, they continue to till the land even as they persist in waging resistance to fully recover their lands.

Political gains. The concrete economic benefits that have been achieved through peasant campaigns in Ilocos have become a positive condition for launching big mobilizations and achieving more and bigger political victories. The farmers have learned to face up to comprador capitalists and government agencies, among others.

In asserting themselves, the farmers have achieved concrete benefits like roads, bridges and irrigation. In interior barrios, they have been able to implement health programs. They have tightened their bonds with other oppressed classes and gained the support of the middle forces. Along with all this, they have likewise launched other broader forms of action in relation to various political and social issues � the absence of genuine agrarian reform, the trampling of the national sovereignty through "Balikatan," militarization in the countryside, the Macapagal-Arroyo regime's ouster, warlordism, and the destruction of the environment, among others.

February 2003
English Edition

	Editorial: Make the Macapagal-Arroyo regime pay dearly for its support of warmongering against Iraq
	International opposition to invasion of Iraq widespread
	Major protest actions worldwide
	Protest actions in the Philippines against US' war threat vs. Iraq spreading
	Criminal and counterrevolutionary Romulo Kintanar meted punishment
	Fraud in economic statistics bared
	Macapagal-Arroyo now openly favors cha-cha
	The crisis concealed by Bush�s warmongering
	Reports from correspondents: Agrarian struggle in Cagayan and Isabela: Campaign to raise corn prices a success
	Reports from correspondents: Farmers in Isabela recover seized lands
	Reports from correspondents: Peasant campaigns in the Ilocos region
	Reports from correspondents: How Mang Ador got his land back
	Dekada �70: A socially relevant film
	NEWS
	In rectification: A message to the workers of PLDT
	Erratum