Reports from Correspondents:
Successful anti-usury campaign launched in Cagayan

Basahin ang artikulong ito sa Pilipino

Peasants in Baggao, Cagayan have harvested a bundle of gains from launching mass actions against landlords and usurers. Up to 2,400 families in 12 barangays in Baggao benefited from this mass campaign.

Usurers and merchants were compelled to sign an agreement signifying their formal assent to the peasants� demands to reduce interest rates on loans and abolish other forms of exploitation in the sale of the farmers� produce. The confrontation was held at the barangay hall in Centro Baggao on April 8. It was the peak of an eight-month mass campaign and was led by CAGIMUNGAN, the intermunicipal peasant association in Cagayan province.

The peasants were able to reduce interest from 50-60 kilos of corn or palay for every P1,000 loan to 25 kilos. Although the agreement would take effect during the next harvest in 2002, interest was already reduced by 10 kilos for the current harvest.

The peasants were likewise no longer obliged to sell their produce to their creditors. They could now sell their products to other merchants willing to offer them a higher price.

The agreement also called for a stop to the imposition of interest on loans for fertilizer. From now on, fertilizer would be available on credit at the prevailing market price.

No interest will be charged during calamities. Those who are unable to pay their debts will no longer be arrested, and the practice of seizing their carabaos and lands will also be stopped.

The merchants� weighing scales will be regularly inspected to ensure their fairness. The selling price of corn and palay will also be monitored at the merchants� trading stations and used as the basis for setting the buying price for the farmers� produce.

Simultaneous with the confrontation between the peasant-leaders and usurer-traders, more than 600 farmers rallied, holding aloft placards stating their demands. The confrontation was likewise witnessed by town and barangay officials and church people.

Meanwhile, in Baggao and other parts of eastern Cagayan, the peasants� struggle to reduce and eventually eliminate land rent so they could own the farms they had long been renting is advancing, along with the struggle to reduce irrigation fees and raise the prices of their produce. Simultaneously, the practice of forming mutual aid teams among peasants to improve production and health is likewise advancing.

The mass campaigns have also resulted in the expansion and consolidation of CAGIMUNGAN and the development of relations with the middle forces. Above all, they have been a source of a bountiful harvest of golden lessons in strengthening the unity and advancing the interests of the people.

July 2002
English Edition

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