The widows of the two Task Force Mapalad farmer-beneficiaries killed last month in Hacienda Velez-Malaga in Brgy. Robles, La Castellana yesterday appealed for financial assistance from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

At the press conference of the Progressive Alliance of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries and Advocates in Negros in Bacolod, Clarita Garcesa and Nelda Tupas said that, times become hard for their families after their husband died. Clarita is the widow of Alejandro Garcesa, 70, while Nelda, of Ely Tupas, 52. Both farmers were killed by the security guards of Hacienda Velez-Malaga when they attempted to occupy the portion of the Roberto Cuenca on June 4, more than two months after they were installed by Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman.

"We don't have a means for livelihood. We relied on our husbands to earn a living for our families," Nelda, a mother of five, said. She added that her children, aged between 13 and 21, have also stopped going to school.

Garcesa, who represents the group, Katarungan para sa mga Biktima sang Pag-abuso nga may Kaangtanan sa Repormang Agraryo or KATARUNGAN, also called on Arroyo to order the arrest agrarian reform violators, including the suspects in the killings of her and Tupas' husband.

PALABAN spokesman Bobby Berte said their group welcomes the arrival of President Arroyo today so that she can see for herself the real situation of the agrarian reform program in Negros Occidental.

Francisco Oplas, spokesperson of the ECJ Farmworkers Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi-Purpose Cooperative, said in a statement yesterday that Berte is not beneficiary in the Cojuangco farms, and cannot therefore speak as representative of the beneficiaries.

He said that Berte's application to be among the beneficiaries in the Cojuangco lands was dismissed after he joined the illegal take-over of the landholdings a few years back, which they did under TFM.

Pastor Emmanuel Alano of Agrarian Reform Advocates-Negros said: "President Arroyo should listen to the pleas of the families of the farmers who are the true victims of agrarian reform-related violence."

Meanwhile, Alab Katipunan and its allied groups Kongreso ng Pagkakaisa ng Maralita sa Kanayunan and Movement for Agrarian Reform and Rural Advancement pushed for the review of the CARP before its extending its implementation beyond 2008. The groups said that the government should set up a special body to conduct the review, set substantial budget for support services, and prioritize the distribution of lands that are untilled, unproductive and unused.*NLG

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