For three days from March 30, 2016, thousands of farmers and their supporters blockaded the Davao–Cotabato Road in Kidapawan, North Cotabato, in the Philippines. A day before prior to the road blockade, 500 farmers protested in front of the National Food Authority Office in Kidapawan to air their grievances. The demonstration ended violently with at least three deaths on the side of the protesters and a total of 116 injured on both sides after the police dispersed the mass action. Background The protesters cited the drought caused by El Niño that has been affecting the region since November 2015 and the non-distribution of rice by the National Food Authority despite the declaration of a state of calamity by the local government unit. Among the demands set by the protesters was 15,000 sacks of rice which they said North Cotabato Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza previously promised to give as a form of relief, seeds of vegetables resistant to drought and other relief against hunger. More than of agricultural lands had been affected by the drought according to the Department of Agriculture with about worth of rice and corn lost as a result of the calamity. Protesters The number of people who participated in the protests ranged from 3,000 to 6,000 protesters composing of farmers affected by droughts and their supporters. The Philippine National Police (PNP) gave an estimate of about 3,000 participants, while protest organizers gave a figure of 5,000 protesters. According to North Cotabato Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza, groups outside the province, namely Anakpawis, Bayan Muna, League of Filipino Students, Gabriela and the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas joined to support the protesting farmers. It was also reported that some of the farmers involved were from outside the province, and that they were told that they would be receiving rice from the governor of North Cotabato. According to local town municipals farmers from the municipalities of Arakan, Antipas, Magpet, Makilala and Tulunan were coerced by the New People's Army to join the demonstrations to attract the media's attention. Events Five hundred farmers went in front of the National Food Authority office in Kidapawan on March 29, 2016, to begin a protest saying that they were suffering from hunger, and that they had no income due to the El Niño phenomenon. North Cotabato Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza talked with the farmers, and the names of the farmers were sent to the local government unit so