Farmers Camp Out at DAR, Demand Dialogue with Secretary Estrella to Fulfill CARP’s Promise
- Media Communications
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Quezon City, Philippines — Over 500 farmers have traveled from Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao to mount a week-long camp-out outside the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Central Office from Jun. 8 to 10, 2026. This major mobilization aims to secure a face-to-face dialogue with DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III to address critical land rights issues.
Organized by a broad coalition called the June 10 Land Rights Committee (J10LRC)*, the protest is timed with the 38th anniversary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) Law. Thirty-eight years after CARP’s enactment, the farmers are demanding that the DAR fulfill its core mandate and deliver on CARP’s long-overdue commitments.
“The farmers are demanding the immediate distribution of the remaining agricultural lands and genuine government support for agrarian reform beneficiaries to make their farming economically viable and sustainable,” said Claro Pasion, president of Kilusan para sa Repormang Agraryo at Katarungan Panlipunan (KATARUNGAN).
The Unfulfilled Promise of Social Justice and Development
The camp-out spotlights the starkly unfulfilled promise of CARP regarding social justice and rural development. While recognizing its partial gains, the coalition rejects the government’s narrative that the program can be concluded victoriously.
“CARP has been ongoing for 38 years, which is why we are bringing no less than 30 concrete CARP cases today to demand immediate action from DAR,” Pasion stated.
Among these urgent cases are alarming instances of land reform reversals, including the cancellation of certificates of land ownership awards (CLOAs) in Sariaya, Quezon, and retention claims that threaten previously awarded lands in Maliwalo, Tarlac. Unresolved implementation of the homelot provision for 6,296 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) decided by the Supreme Court persists in Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac.
Equally concerning are cases involving the delayed implementation of agrarian reform decisions and the non-installation of ARBs despite favorable rulings or the issuance of CLOAs, such as in the Manuel Uy Ek Liong estate in San Narciso, Quezon; Carballo and Mendieta in Tanjay, Negros Oriental; and Hacienda Fernandez Hermanos in Davao del Norte. Other cases reveal land grabbing, land-use conversion, long-term lease arrangements, and corporate resistance to agrarian reform, including Hacienda Dolores in Porac, Pampanga; Elizalde-Roxas in Bais, Negros Oriental; and Riverforest Development Corporation in Brgy. Sumalo, Hermosa, Bataan.
Agrarian Reform as Key to Addressing the Food and Climate Crisis
The coalition also emphasizes that farmers' struggles over their land directly contribute to the broader economic struggles faced by ordinary Filipinos nationwide.
The groups signify that it is no surprise that the country is currently reeling from a severe food crisis, with the Philippines standing as a top importer of rice and other basic food items. It is the result of unresolved social justice issues.
“Latest reports highlighted a projected nationwide agricultural and economic losses of P286.8 billion (US$5.5 billion) in direct and indirect impacts due to Super El Niño. We have been stressing that landlessness is one of the major burdens on Filipino farmers, not only in securing our food supply but also in weathering supercharged climate events. With utmost urgency, we demand that the Philippine government address farmers’ land issues and climate crisis impacts on our people,” said Laica Rayel, Food, Land, Water, and Climate (FLWC) Campaign Senior Officer of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ).
J10LRC stresses that there is only one true solution: we must protect our farmlands and the farmers who feed our nation, especially now that we are facing a climate crisis. Only by ensuring land justice can we guarantee food security and genuine national progress.
The Struggle Will Continue
The J10LRC emphasized that the campout is only the beginning. Following this week-long mobilization, the coalition vows that the campaign will persist and escalate if the DAR fails to take immediate, decisive action on the cases presented.
“We vow to hold the line until every single farmer across the Philippines is awarded the land they till, and provided the comprehensive government support they urgently need,” Pasion lamented. ###
*JUNE 10 LAND RIGHTS COMMITTEE:
Kilusan para sa Repormang Agraryo at Katarungang Panlipunan (KATARUNGAN), Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), Pagkakaisa Para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (PARAGOS) Pilipinas, Pambansang Koalisyon ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK), Alter Trade Foundation, Inc., Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), Pambansang Kaisahan ng Magbubukid sa Pilipinas (PKMP), Makabayang Alyansa ng Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Makabayan-Pilipinas), Aniban ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (AMA), and Focus on the Global South, Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA), Task Force Mapalad National Peasant Federation (TFM), Pambansang Katipunan ng Makabayang Magbubukid (PKMM), Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Samahan sa Kanayunan (PKSK), Samahang Nagkakaisang Magsasaka ng Baranggay Sumalo (Sanamabasu), and Katipunan ng Bagong Pilipina (KABAPA)
SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS/FORMATIONS:
LILAK (Purple Action for Indigenous Women's Rights), Akbayan Partylist, Kamanggagawa Partylist, Oriang, K4K-QC, and other groups.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REQUEST INTERVIEWS, PLEASE CONTACT:
Agatha Borras
Research and Documentation Officer
KATARUNGAN
Viber/WhatsApp: +63-995-109-6598
Sheila Abarra
Senior Media and Communications Officer
Philippine Movement for Climate Justice
Viber: +63-991-669-2356
WhatsApp: +63-938-089-8327