Jaime Tadeo
Member of the Philippine Constitutional Commission
In office
June 2, 1986 – October 15, 1986
PresidentCorazon Aquino
Personal details
Born(1938-03-28)March 28, 1938
Bocaue, Bulacan, Commonwealth of the Philippines
DiedMarch 26, 2023(2023-03-26) (aged 84)
SpouseCresencia Bernardino
Children5
OccupationActivist
ProfessionFarmer
NicknameKa Jimmy

Jaime "Ka Jimmy" Tadeo (March 28, 1938 – March 26, 2023) was a Filipino peasant and organic farming activist.[1][2][3][4]

Biography

Tadeo was born in Bocaue, Bulacan.[1][5] He obtained a bachelor's degree in Agriculture from the Araneta University in 1960 and worked for different government agencies from 1962 to 1981.[5] Tadeo was formerly one of the leaders of the militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (the KMP, or Peasant Movement of the Philippines), formed amid the 1986 People Power Revolution in order to push for agrarian reform, until the peasant movement split into multiple groups in the 1990s.[1][6][7][2][8][9]

Shortly after the fall of the Marcos dictatorship, Tadeo was appointed to be part of the 1986 Constitutional Commission where he was the sole peasant representative.[2]

In January 1987, Tadeo figured prominently in the demonstrations which led to the Mendiola massacre, a violent dispersal of peasants, workers, and students by state security forces which left 13 dead.[1][10] According to Tadeo, most of the 13 were part of a "composite team" purposely put to protect him from gunfire.[3]

In 1990, Tadeo was arrested and taken to the maximum security National Penitentiary at Muntinlupa, which supporters claim was due to his outspoken criticism of Corazon Aquino's executive order on agrarian reform.[4][2][11] Asked about his views on the president, he remarked that she "[was] running the country like her own hacienda," and retorted "I asked Cory Aquino for land for the peasants and she gave me 'Muntinlupa' (in Tagalog, 'tiny piece of land')."[2][4]

Tadeo led a small group of Bulakenyo and Central Luzon farmers through the organization Paragos-Pilipinas.[1][12][13]

Scholar James Putzel took the title of his book, A Captive Land: The Politics of Agrarian Reform in the Philippines (1992) on the history of land reform in the Philippines and the United States' role in it, from Tadeo's remark that the Philippines is a "foreign dominated economy," captive to American interests.[2]

Tadeo supported the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill filed in Congress by Representative Rafael Mariano in 2018.[14]

Tadeo died on March 26, 2023, two days before his 85th birthday.[14][15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Mayuga, Jonathan L. (October 8, 2015). "When men wore 'bakya': 'Ka' Jimmy recalls how life was as a farmer in Bulacan when he was 25 | Jonathan L. Mayuga". BusinessMirror. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Putzel, James (1992). A Captive Land: The Politics of Agrarian Reform in the Philippines. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.
  3. ^ a b "Jaime Tadeo." EDSA Stories. Focus on the Global South-Philippines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0CFAiP1zV8
  4. ^ a b c Mundo, Fernando del (December 24, 2012). "He wanted land for farmers but got Muntinlupa instead". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Official Directory of the Constitutional Commission 1986. 1986. p. 113. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  6. ^ Bello, Walden; De Guzman, M. (2006). "Agrarian Reform: The Promise and the Reality". The Anti-Development State: The Political Economy of Permanent Crisis in the Philippines. Zed Books.
  7. ^ Fuller, Ken (2015). The Lost Vision: The Philippine Left 1986-2010. University of the Philippines Press.
  8. ^ Magadia, J. (2003). "Agrarian Reform and a Strong Civil Society". State-Society Dynamics: Policy Making in a Restored Democracy. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press. pp. 43–92.
  9. ^ "Agrarian Reform and the External Debt: Pressing Issues" (PDF). Social Science Information. 17. July–December 1989.
  10. ^ (Jan 27, 1987). Marines open fire on peasant union march as it crosses Mendiola Bridge killing 12 and wounding 106. GS28018721. Associated Press. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xxZMjmf2KA
  11. ^ "The framing of Jaime Tadeo". Green Left. September 6, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  12. ^ "Geraldine Roman takes a snap with Jimmy Tadeo | Politiko Central Luzon". November 14, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  13. ^ Purugganan, Joseph (November 26, 2019). "Farmers demand government to repeal Rice Liberalization Law - Focus on the Global South". Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  14. ^ a b Bolledo, Jairo (March 26, 2023). "Jimmy Tadeo, peasant leader and 1987 Constitution framer, dies". Rappler. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  15. ^ Subingsubing, Krixia (March 27, 2023). "Jaime Tadeo, agrarian reform advocate; 84". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
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