Escalante Massacre Over Sugar Plantations

Escalante Massacre over sugar
plantations, Negros Occidental, the

Philippines
https://www.ejatlas.org/conflict/escalante-massacre-of-agrarian-
activists-negros-occidental-philippines
The province of Negros Occidental is a province made prosperous by

the sugar industry. For hundreds of years, it had exported sugar and
sugar products from land concentrated and under the control of the
elite, the sugar plantation owners or hacienderos. The land workers
were left landless and earned their living as farm labor,
or sacadas. Social tension was always high in the province because of
this situation [1].
In the late 1970s, world sugar prices collapsed. Negros was suffering
from the aftermath of the collapse of the sugar industry due to the
end, in 1974, of a US quota system that had previously ensured
markets for Negros sugar, compounded by Marcos’s alleged plunder of
the industry under martial law through the operations of the
Philippine Sugar Commission (PHILSUCOM) and the National Sugar
Trading Corporation (NASUTRA). [3] Across Negros, production had
slowed down or worse, stood still. Half a million farmworkers lost
their livelihoods and hundreds of thousands of children faced hunger
and death [1].
For the sacadas in Negros, life under the martial law regime by
Ferdinard Marcos (1972-1986) became much worse. Farm wages
stayed very low. Marcos promised to break up land monopolies and
distribute land to the landless, causing a few to hope, but the promises
remained on paper. Soldiers and paramilitary forces (Citizens’ Home
Defense Forces or CHDF) stalked rural Negros, stealing from people,
burning villages, and kidnapping and assassinating local farm leaders
[1].
When the sugar crisis exploded in the late 1970s, the sacadas, and
even a small number of enlightened landowners, said they have had
enough. This triggered many protest marches, demanding agrarian
reform and land distribution, fair wages, and improved government
services [1].
By 1985, the 13th year of the Marcos dictatorship, a nationwide

movement called for coordinated protests on the occasion of the
13th anniversary of the declaration of martial law. It was called
the Welgang Bayan (general strike), with participants from most
cities and towns, north to south of the country [1].
Northern responded to this call by organizing its own three-

day welgang bayan. It was to start on the 19th and end on the 21st of
September at the town of New Escalante, 95 kilometers north of
Bacolod City, the provincial capital. Thousands joined the strike. On
the night of the 18th of September, the eve of the three-day action,
protesters began with an overnight vigil in front of the Escalante
town hall. On the morning of the 19th of September, Day One of the
Escalante Welgang Bayan, people poured in to join the protest action.
They came from the town centers and from other areas. They were
sugar workers, farmers, fisherfolk, students, urban poor, professionals,
and church people [1].
By day two, the 20th of September, protesters filled the roads to the
Escalante town hall. They held banners, gave speeches, and chanted
slogans. Fully-armed soldiers, policemen, and paramilitary forces
(CHDF) surrounded them. Firetrucks were ready to disperse the
crowd. A machine gun also stood at the rooftop of the town hall,
ready to spew fire. At around noon, the fire trucks blasted water on
the ranks of protesters but failed to break the protest line [1].
After the water cannons came tear gas. The protesters, particularly
those in the frontlines, linked their arms, chanting: “Bigas, hindi tear
gas! (We need rice, not teargas!)” They also told each
other: “Makibaka, huwag matakot! (Struggle, keep fear at bay!).” The
crowd was surrounded by members of the Regional Special Action
Force (RSAF) and the Civilian Home Defense Forces (CHDF) [1].
When some protestors threw back the tear gas canisters into the
empty plaza, the paramilitary forces, who would later allege that a
few "trouble-makers" tried to grab their weapons, opened fire into the
masses. The firing came from the CHDF, the police, and the soldiers.
As it happened, the protesters massed in front of the town hall were
mostly sacadas and a few student leaders. Several farmworkers and
one student leader were killed instantly. Others tried to run to the
canefields and ricefields lying next the town hall. But the armed
forces pursued them, shooting several more dead. Twenty in all were
slain that day, with bullet wounds mostly on the back and the side.
[1]
Escalante Martyrs: ALEGRE, William; DAYANAN, Michael;

DEMEGILIO, Rodney; FRANCO, Rovena; JARAVELLO, Juvelyn;
LABATOS, Alex; LAPE, Angelina; LOCANILAO, Norberto;
MAHINAY, Rodolfo; MEGALLEN, Rogelio Jr.; MONARES, Claro;
MONDEJAR, Maria Luz; MONTEALTO, Rodolfo; ORNOPIA,
Aniano; OROT, Nenita; SALILI, Edgardo; SANTA ANA, Ronilo;
SUAREZ, Juanito Jr.; TAN, Manuel; TEJONES, Caesar [1]
From that year, the company Teatro Obrero (Workers’ Theatre) - the
‘cultural arm’ of the Negros Federation of Sugar Workers established
in the late 1970s - stages an annual re-enactment of the massacre
every September. The protesters assemble in Sagay, Toboso, and
Calatrava, forming three marching groups, and walk for two to three
hours to Escalante, dramatically converging to form a single body of
marchers carrying torches, placards, flags, and banners when they
reach the town center in the early evening of 19 September. This
‘pre-event’ concludes at the town plaza, where a monument now
stands in honor of the victims of the massacre. A ‘tribute to the
martyrs’ ritual is held, followed by a program of protest songs and
‘cultural numbers’ performed by TeatroObrero and members of the
Negros Federation of Sugar Workers from the various towns. The
next day, the 20th of September, they hold a memorial Mass for the
dead at the Mt Carmel Church, where many of the protesters sought
shelter in 1985. At noon they begin the march to the massacre site.
[2]
Another case of artistic commemoration is the arts festival that

marked the 32nd anniversary of the Escalante massacre celebrated in
Negros Occidental, with the theme, “Pagpadayon—Continuing the
Heroic Legacy of Escam”. Pagpadayon aimed to inculcate a deeper
historical and social awareness among young and old people by
correcting misconstrued or lacking notions of the Martial Law era,
especially in Negros. The festival also aims to intermingle the lessons
of the past and present, by showcasing both historical and
contemporary issues through artistic media. [6]
On September 18, 2019, during the 34th commemoration of the 1985

Escalante Massacre, nine activists and artists, who were on their way
to perform in Escalante were illegally arrested and charged with
trumped-up charges by elements of the police and the army.[4]
Northern Negros Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (NNAHRA)
maintained that the firearms and explosives were planted and that the
team only had a sound system, leaflets, and personal effects. [5] The
nine individuals arrested in 2019 were Teatro Obrero vice-
chairperson Kenneth Serondo and members Carlo Apurado, Rolly
Hernando, and Reynaldo Saura; National Federation of Sugar
Workers (NFSW) North Negros spokesperson Joel Guillero, Toboso
chapter auditor Leon Charita, and member Benvenido Ducay; as well
as KADAMAY Negros vice-chariperson Aiza Orbesa and their driver
Toto Canilio. [4]
According to Karapatan vice-chairperson Reylan Vergara “The

unlawful arrest of nine cultural workers at Escalante City, once again
based on trumped-up charges and planted evidence, is yet another
desperate attempt by the military and police to quell the growing
anger of the people of Negros and to erase the memory of the Marcos
regime-perpetrated massacre of sugar farmers in Escalante in 1985.
Even cultural work is criminalized by the fascist Duterte government.
The de-facto martial law in Negros continues to manifest itself
through the spiraling state of human rights in the region,” [4]

Escalante Massacre Over Sugar Plantations

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Escalante Massacre over sugar

plantations, Negros Occidental, the

The province of Negros Occidental is a province made prosperous by

By 1985, the 13th year of the Marcos dictatorship, a nationwide

Northern responded to this call by organizing its own three-

Escalante Martyrs: ALEGRE, William; DAYANAN, Michael;

Another case of artistic commemoration is the arts festival that

On September 18, 2019, during the 34th commemoration of the 1985

According to Karapatan vice-chairperson Reylan Vergara “The

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