OPPOSITION Sen. Chiz Escudero yesterday urged government to implement true agrarian reform to enable landless farmers to live decently, improve their income and provide proper education and nutrition to their families.

Of the country’s estimated labor force of 36 million, close to 40 percent are directly and indirectly engaged in agriculture.

“The lack of political will on the part of this administration to redistribute land in rural areas, and its inability to provide basic farming resources has kept farmers poor and stymied production,” he added.

Escudero stressed that a continuing situation such as this, where farmers are mired in poverty, could lead to a repetition of the Nov. 16, 2004 labor protest over workers’ benefits and wages at Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac.

The incident resulted in the death of seven peasants who were shot dead by a combined force of police and military personnel who tried to enforce an order from the Department of Labor to assume jurisdiction over the strike.

Data from the Department of Agriculture show that farm output growth in the second quarter of 2009 missed targets.

It was also the slowest in four years at .87 percent and was markedly lower than the 5.4 percent recorded during the same period a year ago.

“Lack of opportunities in rural areas has only led to the inequitable distribution of or limited access to resources. And until this is addressed, many farmers will continue to wallow in poverty,” Escudero stressed.

SEN. Manny Villar today filed a resolution commending Manny Pacquiao for winning over Puerto Rican boxer Miguel Cotto during the “Firepower” boxing match held in Las Vegas last Sunday.

“Pacquiao brings great pride and inspires all Filipinos to excel in their undertakings to achieve success and world recognition even during challenging times,” Villar said.

Proposed Senate Resolution No. 1466 said Pacquiao’s technical knockout triumph over Cotto made him not only the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter today but also the first fighter to win world titles in seven divisions.

OPPOSITION Sen. Chiz Escudero yesterday reminded government to resolve hundreds of cases of human rights violations that have cropped up in the last eight years, particularly now that the Anti-Torture Bill (Republic Act 9745) has been signed into law.

“This development is a significant milestone in our efforts to address this country’s human rights violations, particularly the use of torture by agents of government,” the 40-year-old lawmaker stressed.

Numerous cause-oriented groups and organizations have documented hundreds of cases where members of left-leaning political groups and the clergy as well as outspoken activists and journalists were either kidnapped or killed since the Arroyo administration took power in 2001. More than 1,000 cases of torture have also been recorded.

Escudero added that his colleagues in the House of Representatives and the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, as well as human rights and people’s organizations also played an important part in having the bill made into law.

He noted that for years, the bill languished in the legislative mill despite the fact that the Philippines was a signatory of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

“The enactment of R.A. 9745 is a concrete step towards fulfilling our commitment to an agreement we signed over two decades ago. More importantly, this law now gives our people another shield against human rights abuses.”

Escudero said that from the dawn of Martial Law to this very day, many Filipinos have suffered because of their political beliefs.

“Under this administration alone, political activists have been tortured and have had to seek the protection of our courts against these abuses. With this new law on their side, the hope is that this will pave the way for the conviction and imprisonment of their perpetrators, and discourage those planning to use it,” he emphasized.

The reelectionist Moreno, president of the local party Asenso Manileño, made the move following the announcement of his tandem with Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim at the Bonifacio Shrine. The vice-mayor attended only the local proclamation and distanced himself from the declaration of support to Liberal Party’s national bets earlier.

“Iba at mabigat ang usaping pampanguluhan,” Moreno stressed, “Nakasalalay dito ang patutunguhan ng ating bayan at mamamayan. Naniniwala akong si Sen. Manny Villar ang nagtataglay ng katangi-tanging kakayanang mamuno, sapagkat alam niya ang pakiramdam ng kumakalam na sikmura ng mga mahihirap nating kababayan bilang nakaahon at nagtagumpay dito.”

The vice-mayor, like Villar, was born to poverty in the slums of Tondo, scavenging for food and livelihood until he became an actor and later on a political figure.

Moreno said Asenso Manileño will forge a formal alliance with NP, committing grassroots support in Manila for Villar.

Villar said, “We welcome Vice-Mayor Isko Moreno as a strong pillar and partner in our advocacy against poverty as our common roots.”

NP has reached its 2,000-membership mark for incumbent officials as more joined alongside the vice-mayor, including Parañaque first district Rep. Eduardo Zialcita, erstwhile Lakas-CMD deputy spokesman; Apayao Gov. Elias Bulut Sr.; Aurora Vice-Gov. Gerardo Noveras; vice-mayors from Luzon; and councilors from the National Capital Region.

The latest NP oathtakers at the Laurel House in Mandaluyong numbered over 200.

Governor Bulut, also from Lakas-Kampi-CMD, was a former Calanasan mayor before he served the Apayao people for nine years in the House of Representatives.

Known as the “Father of Apayao”, then Congressman Bulut was the one who fought for the separation of Kalinga-Apayao into two distinct provinces. In 1995, Republic Act 7878 formalized Apayao and Kalinga as two separate Philippine provinces. Apayao now has a voting population of more than 60,000.

The oathtakers followed in the footsteps of Camarines Sur Gov. Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte Jr., national chairman of the League of Provinces of the Philippines; Surigao del Norte Gov. Robert Ace Barbers; Davao del Sur Gov. Douglas “Dodo” Cagas; Biliran Gov. Rogelio “Roger” Espina; Cagayan Vice-Governors Leonides “Odi” Fausto; Laguna Vice-Gov. Ramil Hernandez; Ilocos Norte Vice-Gov. Windell Chua; and Quirino Vice-Gov. Pasencia Bacani, who recently defected to NP.

Villar is also set to administer the oath to about 150 incumbent and aspiring leaders from Lanao.