CA rejects Mariano as DAR secretary

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Appointments (CA) yesterday rejected the nomination of Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano, making him the fourth Cabinet member who failed to hurdle the confirmation process.

After three hearings, the CA rejected Mariano, with at least 13 of its members voting against his confirmation.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, chairman of the CA’s committee on agrarian reform, said the count of the votes, which was done by secret balloting during an executive session, was stopped when the minimum 13 was reached.

Of the 24 members of the CA, the only ones who were identified as voting in favor of Mariano were Sotto, Sens. Manny Pacquiao and Juan Miguel Zubiri and Davao Oriental Rep. Joel Almario.

“The members had expressed the hope that Ka Paeng, being a true farmer himself, and having been nominated by the National Democratic Front and its allied organizations for the position of DAR secretary, would be the perfect candidate to serve as bridge between the Duterte administration, which he now serves, and the left of center forces from whose ranks he came,” Sotto said.

However, several issues were raised against Mariano, including his alleged participation in the planning of the New People’s Army’s attack on the facility of Lapanday Foods Corp. in Davao City and the Macondray box and plastics plant in Barangay Bunawan last April 29.

During the hearing, Lapanday finance officer Manolito Dagatan voiced the accusation against Mariano.

“(Mariano) abused his authority, mocked the Constitution and laws with impunity, discord and destruction,” Lapanday spokesman Hernani Geronimo told the CA committee.

Mariano has denied the accusation, which was in an intelligence report cited in a joint resolution issued by executive committee members of the regional development council and peace and order council of Region 11 last May 5 and submitted for the benefit of the CA.

The joint resolution was signed by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Eduardo Año, Governors Anthony del Rosario of Davao del Norte; Jayvee Uy of Compostela Valley; Nelson Dayanghirang of Davao Oriental; and Claude Bautista of Davao Occidental; Tagum City Mayor Allan Rellon, and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.

The resolution was based on intelligence reports that leftist officials in government, including Mariano, had planned and directed the attacks.

They recommended that the leftist officials, particularly Mariano, be excluded from the government peace panel negotiating with communist rebels.

During her questioning of Mariano yesterday, Occidental Mindoro Rep. Josephine Ramirez Sato also raised the issue of his stand on the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and its amended version, which he reportedly described as being “huwad” or fake.

Mariano admitted the CARP has its inherent flaws, loopholes, limitations and imperfections, a stance that he has long taken as the former leader of the left-leaning Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas.

Sato said she found it difficult to reconcile how Mariano would be able to effectively perform his task as agrarian reform secretary when he sees the CARP as defective.

She also revealed Mariano issued an order reviewing the status of all conversion grants from 1988 to June 30, 2016.

As a result of this act of Mariano, Sato said the stability of executive actions now comes into question.

Mariano explained the review was necessary to check on the compliance of the owners of converted lands.

He pointed out that agricultural lands converted to industrial, residential or commercial use should be developed within five years from the conversion.

While acknowledging the review of the compliance of the landowners is necessary, Sato said there is a prescription period for such actions and going way back to 1988 was incomprehensible.

Mariano delivered a statement after the plenary session of the CA.

He said the interests of the oligarchs and big landlords were upheld with his rejection as DAR secretary.

Mariano vowed to resume his fight to bring justice to the farmers in their fight to own the land that is rightfully theirs.

“While we failed to secure the confirmation of the Commission on Appointments today, yours truly, Ka Paeng Mariano, will not stop serving our farmers,” Mariano said in Filipino.

“The interests of the big landlords and oligarchs may have triumphed today, but the day will come when all the farmers, the downtrodden and the abused in our society will emerge victorious. The struggle continues,” he added.

Malacañang, on the other hand, expressed its gratitude to Mariano for pushing for the rights of the marginalized farmers during his brief stint under the Duterte administration.

“We regret the news of Department of Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael ‘Paeng’ Mariano’s rejection by the Commission on Appointments,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said.

Abella said Mariano’s role in improving the quality of life of the farmers is a commitment of the Duterte administration.

“Secretary Mariano has been pivotal in promoting farmers’ rights and welfare and ensuring their security of land tenure.

“Our people will always be grateful to Secretary Mariano for his dedicated and passionate service to the nation,” Abella said.

Backlash

Mariano is the fourth Cabinet official of the Duterte administration to be rejected by the CA.

The collegiate body had earlier rejected the nominations of Perfecto Yasay Jr. as foreign secretary, Regina Lopez as environment secretary and Judy Taguiwalo as social welfare secretary.

Sotto vouched for Mariano, saying he has known the erstwhile DAR secretary as a capable and competent official.

Zubiri, for his part, described Mariano as the perfect fit for DAR secretary because of his genuine concern for the landless.

Almario said Mariano would have addressed the practice of some farmer-beneficiaries of illegally selling their lands.

He said Mariano, who as DAR secretary sat as a director in the Land Bank of the Philippines, would have ensured that the bank lived up to its mandate of supporting the farmers and fisherfolk.

“I believe Ka Paeng would have been successful in educating farmer-beneficiaries against this practice and I can only hope that the next secretary will do just that,” he said.

Opposition lawmakers led by Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. said Mariano’s rejection shows the administration’s alliance with leftist groups was shaky from the start.

Baguilat said his concern now is how the removal of Mariano as DAR secretary would affect the government’s peace talks with the communist rebels.

Mariano is among the Cabinet nominees coming from leftist organizations. He used to be a senior leader of Anakpawis, a left-wing group closely identified with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) before joining the Duterte Cabinet.

Militant groups led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) slammed President Duterte for not standing up for Mariano as peasants’ rights advocate.

“Responsibility for the CA rejection of Ka Paeng falls squarely on Duterte, who has sided with landlords and oligarchs. Farmers had placed their hope on Ka Paeng, a farmer-activist, but Duterte has other things in mind. He values more the interests of the economic elite and his generals,” Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes said.

Reyes said that just like in the cases of Lopez and Taguiwalo, Mariano’s rejection is another proof that Duterte and Congress protect the interest of the elite and not of the people.

Pamalakaya leader Fernando Hicap blamed Duterte for Mariano’s rejection by the CA.

“President Duterte holds a majority in Congress and in the Senate, he could have done something to sway his allies to retain Mariano in the post. But like Gina Lopez and Taguiwalo, he not only let the rejection of Mariano but also set aside the interests of the Filipino peasantry,” Hicap said.?The statements from Mariano and militant groups prompted the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to issue an alert on possible security backlash on the CA rejection.

Mariano’s rejection is expected to trigger protest from left-wing groups, particularly Anakpawis.

AFP spokesman Col. Edgard Arevalo said the military is leaving it up to Mariano’s supporters if they will be conducting rallies and protest actions to ventilate their grievances against the government.

He added that rallies and peaceful protest actions are guaranteed constitutional rights for as long that these actions do not jeopardize the safety and security of people and the state.

“We hope they will not go to the extent… that they will intensify their attacks. But be that as it may, if they will be doing that as they have been doing in the past, we are ready to thwart any attacks against our soldiers, against our vital national institutions,” Arevalo said. –Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez, Jess Diaz, Jaime Laude, Elizabeth Marcelo