At around 10:30 AM, June 18, 2024, elements of the 80th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA) reportedly went to the house of Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan -AMB Chairperson Cecilia Rapiz in Barangay Paradise 3, San Jose Del Monte City in Bulacan. The soldiers were allegedly looking for the whereabouts of Rapiz as they talked to the relatives of the peasant woman leader. According to the residents, heavily armed soldiers entered the community, eliciting fear and trauma among the residents, many of whom were elderly and children.

Rapiz, 63 years old, is among the active producer-sellers of the BAGSAKAN Farmers Market which directly sells farmers’ produce to consumers during agroecology fairs, bazaars, and activities in Metro Manila.

The Bagsakan Farmers Market is primarily a farmers’ market of Bungkalan (collective land cultivation) products that showcase the fruits of peasant collective action. Established in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, the Bagsakan Farmers Market aims to attain just prices for poor farmers and consumers. They often sell vegetables, saba banana, root crops, fruits, and herbs at affordable prices.

The latest attack against Rapiz is also a direct affront against peasant women asserting land rights. Over the years, Rapiz led numerous farmers’ dialogues at the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) central office regarding land disputes in Bulacan. Last March, she joined a dialogue at the Department of Agriculture (DA) to seek assistance for SJDM farmers affected by El Nino and drought. She is often invited to school-based activities, food fairs, and agro-ecology and sustainable agriculture activities as an expert resource person on issues of farmers and peasant women.

As a perennial victim of red-tagging, threat, harassment, and intimidation by state forces, Rapiz also filed complaints at the Commission on Human Rights against militarization and state-sponsored rights abuses against SJDM farmers. In September 2019, Rapiz attended the CHR’s National Inquiry on Redtagging as a representative of AMB. #