The long wait is over: Tinang farmers get land after 3 decades rappler.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rappler.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
MANILA - An administrative complaint was filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday by agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) from Tarlac against a prosecutor in the province for grave and serious misconduct. In their nine-page joint complaint-affidavit, the complainants who are farmers from Barangay Tinang, Concepcion, Tarlac accused Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Mila Mae Montefalco of "willful refusal to follow the law", and "conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service ", and sought her dismissal. The farmers were arrested by the police last June 9 during a "bungkalan" (land cultivation activity) which was related to a land dispute in the area. They alleged that Montefalco showed bias when she held inquest proceedings in an "unreasonable, unfair, oppressive or discriminatory manner". Montefalco also did not allow the request from the lawyer of the farmers to refer the case to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) as
"Even if we only have salt to eat for our meals, we will continue to hold our line. This land should have been awarded to us a long time ago. We are the lawful and rightful owners of this land."