Martsa Para sa Lupa: The Struggle for Land and Everyday Politics in a Rural Village in Bataan

Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Political Science, major in Global Politics (Thesis Track)

Department

Political Science

First Advisor

Mendoza, Diana J. Ph.D.

Abstract

This study follows the narratives of farmers in the village of Sumalo, Hermosa in the province of Bataan in Central Luzon and their protracted land struggle. Using a social constructivist perspective, the Sumalo village’s history is traced through the pro-land reform people’s organization SANAMABASU’s experience in navigating and responding to the opportunities offered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Emphasis is put in the agency of people and the processes of contestation and mobilization. I found that farmers are not passive victims. The villagers of Sumalo have in varied ways resisted the landowner’s land claims using a combination of strategies and tactics. The 100-kilometer long march or Lakbayan campaign held in May 2017 is one act of reclaiming collective agency, crucial for a community which has long faced its own powerlessness.

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