21/10/2026
Farmers from across PH culminate protest vs. US-Marcos land grabbing, plunder of national patrimony
Farmers from different regions successfully reached to Mendiola today to culminate the week-long Kampuhang Magbubukid 2026, denouncing the US-Marcos regime’s sellout of the country’s land and natural resources to foreign corporations through mining, wind and solar energy projects, and other forms of plunder.
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said the mobilization highlights how the Marcos Jr. government prioritizes foreign corporate interests over farmers’ rights to land and livelihood, threatening agricultural lands, ancestral territories, fishing grounds, and rural communities.
“Marcos is selling out our national patrimony to foreign interests. From mining operations targeting our mineral wealth to wind and solar projects encroaching on agricultural lands and fishing grounds, the government puts corporate profits ahead of the people’s right to land and livelihood,” said Danilo Ramos, KMP chairperson.
Held from October 15 to 21 at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Kampuhang Magbubukid brought together farmers and advocates from Bicol, Southern Tagalog, Central Luzon, Negros, and Nueva Vizcaya for protests, dialogues, and solidarity activities demanding genuine agrarian reform and an end to land grabbing.
KMP raised concerns over large-scale energy projects involving corporations such as AboitizPower, Vena Energy, and ACEN, which threaten to displace farming communities, convert productive agricultural lands, and restrict access to coastal waters. The group stressed that it does not oppose renewable energy itself but demands energy development that serves national industrialization and the people’s needs.
“Ang kailangan ng bansa ay enerhiyang magsisilbi sa pambansang industriyalisasyon at tunay na pambansang kaunlaran,” said KMP Secretary General Ronnie Manalo.
The group also warned against the Marcos administration’s participation in Pax Silica, a US-led initiative focused on critical minerals, semiconductors, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and supply chains. With US President Donald Trump expected to visit the Philippines in November, KMP said the government is further aligning the country’s resources and economic priorities with US strategic and corporate interests.
KMP said the October Peasant Month mobilizations are a buildup to a broader people’s action against imperialist plunder and Marcos’ subservience to the United States. It called on farmers, workers, indigenous peoples, fisherfolk, and other sectors to unite against policies that sacrifice national sovereignty and people’s livelihoods for foreign profit.
“At this crucial time of El Nino, farmers are demanding land, irrigation, affordable farm inputs, fair palay prices, and compensation for crop losses. Instead of addressing these needs, the Marcos government makes it easier for corporations to take over the land and resources that sustain our communities,” Ramos said.
KMP condemned the harassment and criminalization of farmers and indigenous peoples defending their communities, saying state repression clears the way for corporate land grabbing and resource plunder.
“Defending our land is defending our national patrimony. Our land and resources must serve the Filipino people, not foreign corporations and their local partners. Our struggle for land is a struggle for food, livelihood, and national freedom,” Ramos said.
Similar peasant-led protests and activities are happening in Isabela, Cebu, Negros, Panay and Davao. # # #
