Case 1: “Dear Mediator”

The respondent is 77 years old, male, married with 7 children. When he was still young,

he was aware of how difficult life is, that is the reason he didn't go to school. The only thing he

knows is working in the fields, since the work of his both parents is farming, and the only

occupation in their area is nothing but farming, by that time it is the only source of their daily

income.

According to the respondent he started working in Hacienda, year 1970 up to 2004.

during these times, this is where he met his spouse. During the length of time, he worked at the

Hacienda, he learned various farming activities. According to him a lot of tasks are done within

the day, for example, transplanting seedlings, checking the crops for insects or beetles, checking

on their livestock, and many more. By that time, he was already a family man, his weekly salary

was enough and just enough for his family. There was nothing else to live for that's why he

persevered even though the sun was still, he continued to scrub so that they could have

something to eat.

In the year 2004, the farmers in Hacienda Luisita stop working including him. This is

also the beginning of their trial in life because there is no work. No income, which means it was

extremely difficult for them to lead a comfortable life. He went out of their place and tried to

find another job outside the Hacienda. By the grace of God, he found a job, mixing the soil in the

houses being built which is called a foreman. and he supported his family in the year 2004 to

2012 through his perseverance, this is where he brought his family to survive.

According to the respondent, the Department of Agrarian Reform has distributed to

farmers more than one hundred hectares of land in Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac owned by the

family of former president Benigno Aquino III. He also mentioned that up to one hundred and
fourteen farmers or agrarian reform beneficiaries received land from Hacienda Luisita. When he

finally got the land that they deserve, the joy of his family was incomparable because he said it

was the answer to their poverty. The respondent said that this land was a big help to their life

because of this they were able to build a home.

The land helped them a lot, the former hut house, now made of stone, and because of this

land they were able to buy appliances at home that they didn't have before. They also founded a

machine that was use in the farm. And the happiest thing they achieved because of the help of

this land, was that their youngest child graduated from college. According to the respondent the

money used here was their income from their crops worth 170,000 pesos good for 4 months.

The year passed, the savings ran out, the children got married and had families of their

own. the only money coming in is his pension from SSS worth 4,000 pesos. Therefore, the

harvest has been sluggish due to rice pests and lack of plant inputs such as soil fertilizers and

drugs against rice pests. He had thought of selling the land, but his children stopped him. On the

other hand, according to the respondent he government's free fertilizer programs fall short for

four months of soil care because the fertilizer is just 36 kilograms, this 36-kilogram fertilizer was

not enough to take care a land for 4 months. According to him, the government also provided

farm machinery for free, and it was given free to the group's cooperatives. But if you are just an

ordinary farmer and you borrow it, you will pay. The only request of the responder is that the

higher office will implement an order that it will be free to use as long as there is a proper

process before you can borrow it.

In the middle of the interview, the respondent had no other request except that his

complaint would reach the government so that they could somehow be helped. Local farmers
like him who contribute to the basic and essential needs of the countrymen should be heard, he

concluded.