Today marks the 31st anniversary of the Mendiola Massacre. This unfortunate incident is a reminder that government must seriously address victims of poverty and injustice, such as the poor farmers violently dispersed in Mendiola.

We assure our farmers that there would be no repeat of such insensitivity and that we have currently a compassionate government that continues in its efforts to emancipate our farmers from the bondage of the soil they till.

Currently, the Duterte Administration, through the Department of Agrarian Reform has already distributed a total of 36,051 hectares to 31,737 agrarian reform beneficiaries from January to September 2017.