24 HOURS NEWS SERVICEFARMERS PROTEST AMID HARVEST SEASON PART III “Thank you Sebastian, and I’m looking forward to the trial of Ayal.” Mike said on a mic. “Now, let’s check in on the rural side of the nation with Esteban.” Mike said as the scene went to fields of crops, with paddies of rice and groves of mangoes seen at the background. “Thanks Mike, Esteban Dailisan here in the Municipality of Doña Remdios Trinidad in the province of Bulataan, where the largest protest outside of Lungsod is happening.” He said, as the camera panned to fields of wheat and vegetables fenced with barbed wire on top of a ten-foot tall electric fence, as the protesters are chanting their chants, even making a parody of a Les Miserables song. “Here we have a former farmer for NutriArdia that is leading the protest not in DRT, not in Bulataan, but led and planned every protest in every field owned by NutriArdia throughout the whole of Quintelia. Here’s Berta Santiago.” A 5 feet tall woman in her mid-forties, with a damp towel on her head, and a white and red shirt. “Berta, thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to interview you.”
“The pleasure’s mine, and also, can I say, hello ma, hello pa, I’m here in TV!” Berta shouted with excitement, waving her hands around as she seemed to have forgotten everything in her adrenaline. “Hehehe, your family must be proud with your involvement in probably the largest protest in rural Quintelia. Anyways, is it true that you and hundreds of thousands of other farmers are underpaid?” Esteban asked as he pointed his microphone to the ecstatic woman. “Yes, we’re just paid with $1 dollar a week by our managers, in fact my manager is in that building over there.” She pointed to a white two-story building. “I even saw my manager shout at one of the newer workers just because they were asking for 50 cents so that they can go home. I mean, how greedy would one have to not give a kid money to go home?” She continued, with her excited look transforming to an angry look. “You mentioned kids, how old were they?” Esteban asked, intrigued. “They were fifteen years old that were employed for three months for planting season, but I’ve met children as young as twelve years old doing jobs that I was also doing. I think their contract only lasted for one month, and when I asked, they were only paid $3, and that’s not enough for living for a week.” Berta exclaimed, with anger in her eyes.
“Ok, let’s move on from illegal child labor, let’s move on to how you have assembled and managed almost a hundred thousand protesters throughout the country?” Esteban asked, as the chanting from the background becoming louder. “Well, after someone from Lungsod named Bartolomo contacted me, I accepted, and assembling a crowd in the largest field of NutriArdia was easy. Then, it came to assembling in other provinces. I had to go to every province in Quintelia in eight days, then I have to return here to do something... special.” She paused, as the chanting became shouting. “And what is that special thing you’re talking about?” The journalist asked, and Berta replied a mischievous “Just wait, also let’s show the world.” The camera turned to the protesters, who are burning rags that are soaked with gasoline, as well as a bunch of firecrackers, and even a few lit up cloths at the tip of bottles filled with alcohol, forming a molotov bomb. “Oh, ok, thank you Berta for the wonderful time, and I think it’s time for you to lead your people on your special thing.” Estaban remarked as Berta ran back to the crowd. She shouted. “
Tara na para sa ating mga manggagawa, para sa bayan.[1]” The crowds if protesters shouted at the top of their lungs, as people began throwing their pyrotechnics, hitting the fields they used to till. A few even hit the fences, which began melting. Since the town of DRT is a very rural and poor municipality, only twenty police officers serve the sparsely populated large town, and all twenty officers are part of the protest, as they have family memebers who worked for NutriArdia. The camera cut back to the studio.
“Thank you Esteban for giving us a view of what’s happening in rural Quintelia.” Mike said, as he then pressed one of his earpieces. “And apparently, the same thing is happening all throughout the whole nation, although smaller fires are occurring as the police and the firefighters have intervened with the protests. Now, let’s see what the Minister of Agriculture Adriano Alcala will have to say about this.”
