By Danielle Deloria
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — On April 2, 1967, in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental, Perla ‘Inday’ Pavillar was born.

From being the eldest of five siblings and a young student, Perla witnessed the struggles of farmers, which became a stepping stone to what she is now in the fight for farmers’ rights. In an interview with Bulatlat, Perla shared how she became aware of societal issues and how these awakened her spirit of service and activism.

As a teenager, Perla volunteered in their local church where she documented church activities. She recalled that even then, their parish often joined mobilizations which exposed her at an early age to protests and volunteer work. This deepened in 1985 when human rights violations spread across Negros Occidental. An early protest experience, she said, was joining the welgang bayan where she and her companions marched from Kabankalan to Bacolod, lying down in front of every municipality they passed to protest against the ongoing human rights abuses.

She recalled how severe the bombings were at that time, claiming even the lives of many children.

Perla realized how grave society’s problems are. She became even more active in protests against human rights abuses and in the struggle for farmers’ rights in Negros.

“That was my first experience,” she said, “I realized this is what our society is like, full of violence, full of human rights violations.”

Instead of backing away due to the dangers and abuses she witnessed, she became more determined and strengthened her resolve to serve the people.

Perla continued her community engagement and volunteer work in churches, and by 1990 her role as a church volunteer became a bridge to helping farmers in the province. She served as an organizer through the church’s Commission on Livelihood Program, helping educate farmers about their rights and the vital roles they play.

It was also during this time that she joined a non-government organization, Paghida-et sa Kauswagan Development Group, Inc. (PDG). Perla shared that her experience as a volunteer organizer in the church carried over into her work with PDG. Her reach expanded from helping a single town to serving several municipalities in Negros Occidental. Together with her colleagues, Perla broadened their advocacies on human rights and food security.

As a high school graduate, she said that the lessons she learned from volunteering in church and in the community became her true school. She learned many things like speaking English and communicating with others.

Beyond volunteering for farmers

Perla said that she had a daughter when she was young. Alongside her volunteer work and advocacy for farmers, she was also focused on being a single mother, raising and supporting her daughter’s education. Eventually, she was able to send her only child to finish nursing at Negros Oriental State University.

For many years, Perla was busy with volunteering and being a single mother, until she got married in 2011. The following year, she temporarily stopped volunteering and organizing for farmers. She said that her husband was uneasy about her volunteer work and feared for her safety

Perla clarified that she understood her husband’s reaction because her husband is not exposed to the mass movement, far from her field of work. She added that there is also a rule in her line of work prohibiting romantic relationships within the group (PDG), so her husband came from another profession.

Eventually, her husband came to terms with her work and she returned to what she loved most, volunteering for farmers’ rights. At times, her husband would also help and join her. 

Unfortunately, her commitment to volunteering for farmers’ rights was vilified by the government and she became one of the targets of its counterinsurgency programs.

On January 2, Perla was arrested along with her colleagues at PDG for allegedly violating Section 8 of the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act (TFPSA). 

Perla recalled her experience in prison where she struggled and became depressed during her first two weeks in detention. According to her, there is a rule in prison that requires her to be isolated in her first 14 days inside. She found it difficult as she had no one to talk to and the food was sometimes insufficient. With nothing else to do, she would just cry and lie down, overwhelmed by loneliness.

After 14 days, she was finally allowed to interact with other inmates. This eased her burden, as she could now talk and share her thoughts which helped keep her mind alive. Since she naturally loved socializing and had skills in haircutting, massage, and even acupuncture, she used these to build connections with fellow inmates and prison staff.

For her fellow inmates, she offered her services for free, but some staff gave her small payments from P50 to P100 ($0.88 to $1.75), which she used to buy better food aside from what was provided in prison. This way, even with hardship she found meaning and small relief.

Perla was released in March after the Regional Trial Court Branch 31 in Iloilo City dismissed the terrorism financing charges filed against her and her colleagues at PDG, Federico “Pedring” Salvilla and Daryl Albanez. In his March 14 ruling, Presiding Judge Cyril R. Regalado declared that the method of designation under sub-paragraphs 2 and 3 of Section 3(e) of the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act (TFPSA) was unconstitutional, as it referred to organizations designated under the already repealed Human Security Act, making those provisions invalid.

Read: Court junks terror financing charges against Negros development workers

On August 10, Perla went to Manila to commemorate the fifth death anniversary of peasant leader Randy Echanis and International Humanitarian Law Month. They also held a forum on killings, rights violations, and land grabbing under Duterte and Marcos.

Aside from advocating for farmers’ rights, Perla promotes sustainable agriculture, highlighting her love for cooking vegetable-based dishes, especially pakbet. She shared that during her stay in Manila where they mostly ate from fast food chains that she knew were not organic, she could not help but miss the taste and nourishment of fresh, organic vegetables and home-cooked meals.

On August 16, Perla returned home to Negros Occidental and she recommended that visitors must try their local delicacies, especially linupak na saging (pounded banana).

Perla said that the fight for farmers continues. She shared that her goal is to change the system of society and to keep supporting farmers.

She knows that the fight for systemic change is difficult and will take a long time, but what matters, she said, is to make the most of her time by helping and volunteering for farmers. “Even if changing society may not be achieved now, since I know it is a long-time fight, what’s important is that you are able to maximize your time to help.” (RTS, DAA)