“Our livelihoods were destroyed by the storm. Now, they want to destroy our lives too. If something bad happens to us, it is the 59th IBPA who must be held accountable.”

By Shan Kenshin Ecaldre 
Bulatlat.com

CABUYAO, Laguna – For farmer-leader Ayrene Marasigan of Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Batangas (AMK), what should have been a simple demand for justice after Typhoon Kristine turned into a nightmare of threats and red-tagging.

On August 22, two men in plainclothes who identified themselves as soldiers approached her husband at the barangay hall in Balayan, Batangas. They ordered Ayrene to appear before them. When she could not, they threatened to send the police and military to her home.

“They told us we could be ambushed if we continued attending activities of our organization. They even forced my husband to act as their ‘asset,’” Ayrene revealed in a statement.

The threats did not stop there. The men named her colleagues Louie Quiroz and Ahla Fortuno of SUGAR-Batangas, and Hailey Pecayo, spokesperson of Tanggol Batangan and accused them of being members of the New People’s Army (NPA).

“This is a direct threat to our lives. Instead of compensation, we are being silenced with harassment,” she added.

A second disaster after the typhoon

Nearly a year ago, Typhoon Kristine destroyed farmlands and sugarcane fields across Batangas. The damage has been worsened by what farmers called as the “substandard” floodway project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

For many small farmers, the disaster left them with no income and mounting debts. AMK and SUGAR organized a campaign demanding compensation and accountability.

But their calls were met not with aid but with soldiers.

“Our livelihoods were destroyed by the storm. Now, they want to destroy our lives too,” said Louie Quiroz in a statement. “If something bad happens to us, it is the 59th IBPA who must be held accountable.”

Quiroz believes the military is blocking their campaign because it would take funds away from institutions long plagued by corruption. “They are afraid their pockets will be emptied. That is why they are trying to scare us into stopping,” he added.

Red-tagging as a weapon

For 22-year-old Pecayo, a youth volunteer who grew up in Batangas, the harassment is all too familiar.

In 2023, she was charged with five fabricated cases — two counts of violating international humanitarian law, two under the Anti-Terror Law, and one attempted murder. All of these were eventually dismissed for lack of evidence.

“Now, they are using red-tagging again to paint me and my colleagues as NPA. This is not just harassment, it is abuse of power. They want to silence us,” Pecayo said in a statement.

Pecayo stressed that it was because of their collective efforts that farmers’ voices reached the halls of Congress. “We were invited to speak at the Senate Committee on Agriculture. That’s why they want to block us because our voices are beginning to be heard.”

A history written in threats

The recent incidents are part of a larger, bloodier history of red-tagging in Batangas and the rest of Southern Tagalog.

Under Oplan Bantay Laya (2001–2010), activists and peasant leaders in Batangas and neighboring provinces were systematically labeled as NPA members. Many were forcibly disappeared, others were killed.

During Oplan Bayanihan and Oplan Kapayapaan (2010–2019), human rights groups recorded intensified surveillance and harassment of rural organizations, especially in sugar-producing towns like Balayan and Nasugbu.

In recent years, the 59th IBPA has repeatedly been accused of harassing farmer leaders, fisherfolk, and even church volunteers in Batangas. Rights groups point to the same playbook: discredit legitimate demands for land, aid, or reform by branding them as “terrorist activities.”

For peasants, red-tagging is a death sentence.

‘Compensation, not corruption’

Despite multiple dialogues with the Department of Agriculture (DA), Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), farmers said aid has been grossly inadequate. The SRA promised P3 million worth of fertilizer, and the DSWD distributed food packs. But what farmers continue to demand is comprehensive compensation for the devastation of their livelihoods.

“Compensation, not corruption. Redirect the funds from floodway projects, confidential funds, and the AFP’s bloated budget towards agriculture,” Ayrene insisted.

For AMK, SUGAR, and their youth allies, the red-tagging and harassment only confirm the justness of their struggle.

“Their threats will not stop us. On the contrary, they prove why we must keep fighting for justice, land, and livelihood,” said Pecayo. (RTS, RVO)