Rodrigo Duterte declared the new plan over a month after unknown gunmen killed sugar farmers in Sagay City, Negros Occidental. Philippines leader is going to place Negros provinces under land reform to cut out the roots of feudalism, ABS-CBN reported.
Rodrigo Duterte said that feudalism in Negros province is an unacceptable thing, it is time to distribute land to farmers who are able to produce sugar. On Tuesday evening, President Duterte told journalists that “the problem really is land.”
“We cannot arrive at a peaceful resolution of this controversy if you do not address itong feudalism actually. That’s what’s happening there.”
The President is known for his hardline policy regarding the criminal world and drug industry. Duterte strongly believes that the private army of a Negros landlord was behind the attack on sugar farmers last month. The national leader has blamed the communist New People’s Army for the killings. Duterte added the root cause of the land problem in the impoverished region must be addressed. President also stressed the need to solve the land problem in the region because the “communists are exploiting it” by supposedly forcefully occupying idle lands.
The communists are just going about looking for vacant lands and taking over plantations belonging to the local farmers. Earlier, Duterte warned communists that if they do that my order to the police and the military is to physically evict them. “And if you do anything that is wrong and place the lives of my soldiers and policemen, I told them you can go right ahead and shoot them,” Philippines leader added.
