fitting anecdotes in history puzzles

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"That's not a lake; that's an ocean!"

This was how my nephew, Tim, described the largest lake in the Philippines, Laguna de Bay, when he first saw it. Indeed, it's one huge lake. Fish pens dot the waters. Some coastlines are covered by greenery. Some coastlines are more urbane. This lake was the backdrop of the interview we did with the farmers during the learning journey in Jala-jala (read more about it here; see the photos here).

Laguna de Bay
Laguna de Bay, photographed somewhere in Mabitac, Laguna.
Mount Makiling is found in the far right.


Aling Editha, one of the farmers in the coastal town of Jala-jala, shared her story about the farming community. Hearing the history from someone who actually lived it was just like walking along the fortifications surrounding Intramuros, thinking: if only those walls could talk.

Curious, I wondered at how Aling Editha's story fitted into the bigger picture. Here's what I got so far...

Jala-jala was bought in the 1920s by Francisco, Marcelo, and Bernardo de Borja, the first Filipino owners of the town (1). This property was divided among the three; if I've connected her story with court records correctly, the farming community where we had the learning journey was owned by Marcelo de Borja (2). By the time Aling Editha's parents settled there in 1933, the lands had been inherited by the heirs of Marcelo de Borja. Through the years, the de Borja family became prominent, with lots of rich agricultural properties. These properties eventually became the subject of family legal battles, well-documented in the Supreme Court (i.e., 3).

Her story then skipped half a century, to sometime in the 1970s and the 1980s. In 1972, former Pres. Ferdinand Marcos gave PD 27 which states that "the tenant farmer... shall be deemed owner of a portion constituting a family-size farm..." and "No title to the land owned by the tenant-farmers under this Decree shall be actually issued to a tenant-farmer unless and until the tenant-farmer has become a full-fledged member of a duly recognized farmer's cooperative" (4). It was probably around this time or later when she became a member of the Samahang Nayon, a cooperative program that aimed to help farmers in the villages to have improved quality of life and improved income (5). According to Aling Editha, through organised efforts, she and the other tenant-farmers asserted ownership on the lands they were tilling in Jala-jala. They approached Heherson Alvarez, who was then secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform (1986-1987) (6). They also enlisted the help of radio broadcaster Louie Tabing of Radyo Veritas to keep the public informed of the farmers' struggle and of the status of their land claim.

Through perseverance, hard work, and patience, Aling Editha and the rest of the farmers who fought got what they wanted: a land they could call their own.

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References:

  1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalajala,_Rizal#History
  2. http://www.chanrobles.com/scdecisions/jurisprudence1957/jul1957/gr_l-6622_1957.php
  3. http://www.lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1951/may1951/gr_l-4179_1951.html
  4. http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/presdecs/pd1972/pd_27_1972.html
  5. Fajardo, F.R., F.P. Abella. 1993. Samahang Nayon. In: Cooperatives. Quezon City: Rex Book Store. pp. 97-103
  6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heherson_Alvarez

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