Coalitions mobilize to protect Sariaya farmers' agrarian reform rights

LUCENA CITY — A broad coalition of civil society organizations has intensified efforts to defend the land rights of more than 250 farming families in Sariaya, Quezon, who stand to lose property awarded through the government's agrarian reform initiative. The 'Save Sariaya Now!' campaign was formally launched at the Diocese of Lucena's Sentro Pastoral, signaling growing concern over the systematic dispossession of beneficiaries under the agrarian reform program.

The campaign represents a unified response to a crisis affecting Sariaya's agricultural communities, whose land rights face erosion despite previous government awards. Participating groups have mobilized across multiple sectors to reinvigorate advocacy efforts and draw attention to the farmers' plight.

The initiative seeks to reverse the loss of agrarian reform benefits for the affected families in Sariaya. Organizers have framed the campaign as essential to protecting the livelihoods of vulnerable farming communities and upholding the government's commitments to land redistribution and rural development.

The 'Save Sariaya Now!' campaign reflects broader challenges in the implementation and protection of agrarian reform beneficiaries' rights across the Philippines, where land disputes and tenure insecurity continue to affect farming populations.

Photo: Saint Francis of Assisi Parish Church in the town centre of Sariaya, Quezon, February 2024. Ralff Nestor Nacor via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).