Sumilao Farmers press Arroyo on Promise land

MANILA, Philippines - Farmers from Sumilao town in Bukidnon who returned to Manila last week to remind President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of her promise to give them their ancestral land do not intend to return until she fulfills it.

Q-11 television reported Monday noon that the farmers complained that a court gave the government 15 days from December 18 last year to give back the 144 hectares of "ancestral" land.

But up to now, they said that instead of getting their titles, San Miguel Foods Inc. (SMFI) continued its construction of a piggery in the contested land.

The farmers said they plan to meet Tuesday with Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales on the matter. Rosales and other Church officials supported them when they marched to Manila last year.

Last year, the farmers marched more than 1,700 km to Manila from October to December to fight for their ancestral land.

With support from Catholic Church officials, they managed to get an audience with President