Bin-I Ti Irurukuas: Narratives of Ilokano Farmers and Peasant Organizers in Their Persistent Struggles for Genuine Agrarian Reform amid Intensifying Militarization and Red-Tagging in Cagayan Valley

The Cagayan Valley, a region in the northern part of Luzon, Philippines, is predominantly agricultural, with its economy heavily reliant on the labor of farmers. Ilokano communities, especially those in remote barrios, depend on cultivating rice, corn, and tobacco for their subsistence. Despite this, the majority of Ilokano farmers remain impoverished, landless, and without the means to meet their basic needs. Through a Marxist lens, specifically drawing from Professor Jose Maria Sison’s analysis of the Philippines as a “semi-feudal and semi-colonial” society, this paper examines the lived experiences and narratives of Ilokano farmers and peasant organizers from Cagayan Valley. I argue that their condition is a direct consequence of neocolonial structures, reinforced by the intensifying militarization of rural areas and the increasing presence of U.S. military forces under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). The root of the farmers’ exploitation lies in the persistence of colonialism, imperialism, and bureaucrat capitalism. Using Professor Jose Maria Sison’s framework, I further argue that the continuing armed struggle and rebellion in the countryside is justified through their material conditions. Resolving their plight requires the implementation of Genuine Agrarian Reform, which dismantles these oppressive systems and returns the land to those who till it.