Last March 29, 2017, the UST Simbahayan Community Development Office, in partnership with UST Junior High School and Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, held the Dialogue for Life: For Land and Peace at the Benavides Auditorium. This advocacy forum highlighted the importance of the resumption of peace talks between National Democratic Front Philippines (NDFP) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) but most importantly discussed the situation the farmers being tagged as Reds, tantamount to murders in their places.
The speakers for this forum were Gabriela Representative Emmi De Jesus, whose lecture was entitled “Buhay na Maralita sa Kanayunan, lalo na sa mga Kababaihan, at ang Pangangailangan ng Makatarungan at Pangmatagalang Kapayapaan” with a representative from AMGL Peasant Women from Fort Magsaysay, narrating how her family members and fellow farmers were caught in the crossfire between the government forces and the New People’s Army; Atty. Jobert Pahilga, whose lecture was entitled Prospects of Socio-Economic Reforms in Duterte’s Administration; Mr. Satur Ocampo, who discussed the relevance of the Peace Talks—its evolution and its historical development, and its need of support from the people—as well as the struggles of the rural sectors to its resumption; and Rev. Fr. Ben Alforque, MCS, Promotion of Church People’s Respones (PCPR) whose lecture was entitled Biblio-Theological Reflection on Land and Peace which discussed the role of the Church in the context of social justice.
