Uploaded on Dec 17, 2007 Youtube

Delegates to the dialogue of Sumilao farmers with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo updated
supporters who held vigil at the San Beda Church near Malacanang. Bishop Broderick Pabillo
announced that the dialogue of around an hour and fifteen minutes had not resulted in a
resolution, to disappointed groans from the crowd, but that further talks would be held in the
evening. Cabinet Secretary Ricardo L. Saludo and Jesuit Provincial Fr. Danny Huang, SJ also
gave their impressions of the meeting.
---------------

Better days for Sumilao farmers 6 years after

walk for land, walk for justice
By Walter I. Balane on October 15 2013 11:43 am
SUMILAO, Bukidnon (MindaNews/15 October)Leonora Lumala, 33, owns a portion of the
147 hectares (ha) of land obtained by the Sumilao farmers after their historic 1,700-kilometer
walk for land, walk for justice to Manila in 2007.
Every time the Panaw Sumilao Multi-Purpose Cooperative(PSMPC) holds a gathering since the
land was awarded to them in 2008 after their grueling protest walk a year earlier, the mother of
six is among those assigned to cook for members and guests.
Hesitant at first as the dishes may not taste good, Lumala now beams with confidence, mastering
how to cook pancit guisado, afritada, chopsuey and other viands for their guests and other
cooperative members. For the farm tour and PSMPC board meeting on October 11 as part of
their three-day celebration of the sixth anniversary of their 1,700-kilometer walk for land, walk
for justice, she cooked fish in soy sauce and vinegar that tasted like it is served in restaurants.
Ive got use to cooking for guests. I think this is part of our new skills, she said, adding their
lives have generally improved although clarifying that economically we are still tight.
For every cropping of their almost one hectare corn farm, Lumala said the family earns P70, 000
gross and pays half of it for farm inputs, the rest going to payments for loans made for their daily
sustenance.
Even if we loan our daily needs, at least we have the farm now as our guarantee, she stressed.
Individually and collectively, there are improvements but there is still a lot of work to be done,
said Yoyong Merida, founding chair of the cooperative.
He stressed they are proud, however, to count their blessings.

Of course, we are very far away from our situation back when we started the walk, he said.
Far different
When they went out of Sitio Fatima, their hamlet, last October 12, the Sumilao farmers were far
different from six years agothey rode on the cooperatives vehicles and their own motorcycles
for a caravan around Barangay San Vicente and the rest of Sumilao town.
In parade were about 30 members riding on their own motorcycles. The rest of the members and
their families rode in a forward truck vehicle, an elf cargo vehicle, and a multi-cab, all owned by
the cooperative.
The forward truck vehicle and multi-cab were part of the P2.5 million grant from Senator Francis
Pangilinans Sagip Saka program through the Cooperative Development Authority. The grant
also came with training, production, marketing and other project start up components.
The caravan from Sitio Fatima to the town proper of Sumilao and back was among the highlights
of the anniversary celebration.
Six years after their historic 1,700-kilometer walk for land, walk for justice to Manila in 2007,
the Sumilao farmers cooperative reported improved economic status and better quality of
life with total assets of P52.54 million as of this month, including about P2.26 million in current
account.
Starting this year, they have paid a total of P400, 000 to the Land Bank of the Philippines as
installment for 97 ha of land transferred to them in 2010 by San Miguel Corp. (SMC) They also
paid a total of P47, 000 for real property taxes for 50 ha, which SMC turned over to them
through a deed of donation.
Merida, the cooperatives founding chair, said the challenge now for the farmers is how to
sustain and develop their lands in accordance with the 10-year development plan laid out for the
cooperatives 163 members.
In his presentation at the program highlighting the October 10-12 celebrations at the San Vicente
Barangay Plaza, Merida cited the farmers plan to diversify their products.
The celebration was themed Panaw: Naghugpong aron Pagpagahum ug Pagpalambu sa
Kumunidad or united to empower and develop the community.
According to the farmers plan, they would plant coffee, cacao, citronella and durian, among
other high-value crops, aside from corn and vegetables.
Merida noted the cooperative members have gone a long way from their situation six years ago.
Our members can now afford to send their children to school and have better quality of life, he
added.

Merida said they are looking at sustainable agriculture in the 50-ha area and looking for
financing for the 97 ha spread across eight non-contiguous areas.
He cited that only 32 ha of the 97-ha area had been planted, mostly to corn.
For the cooperative, it earns by renting farm production equipment and trucks and through
interest payments from loans by members.
Grants for development
Among the highlights of the anniversary program was the signing of the Memorandum of
Agreement between the cooperative and the Department of Agrarian Reform for a P2.5 million
grant, which was previously released to the cooperative as a conditional grant. The money was
loaned to members for their farm inputs.
The cooperative also received a P2.4 million tractor from the Department of Agriculture in July
2012, which they rent to members and other farmers in the town, along with their elf and forward
truck vehicles.
Merida said the cooperative was also able to obtain another grant worth P1.3 million to put up a
warehouse and for their communal production.
The group also received a building from Akbayan, which it uses as peoples center and offices
for the cooperative and its support groups. It also served as a tulugan or tribal hall.
Through the Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (Pakisama), the cooperative
also availed of another P2.5 million grant for capability building initiatives to include agriculture
cluster formation and commodity trainings for cacao, rubber and coffee.
There are now a total of four vegetable clusters in the cooperative covering 50 members and
another 50 members for the corn cluster that directly connect with the industry supply chain.
Targets
The cooperative intends to have an enterprise for women, set up an Agricultural Field School,
and venture into vermin-culture and enzyme compost production.
Merida cited that additional support services such as mechanical dryers and corn mills can
further improve the cooperatives economic condition.
One of the strengths of the cooperative, Merida said, is its group of support organizations that
helped them through the years.
The Sumilao farmers hogged the headlines in 2007 when they marched from this town to Manila
to press their land claim under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

They first rose to national prominence earlier in 2007 after they staged a 28-day hunger strike in
Quezon and Cagayan de Oro cities to dramatize their demand to get back 144 ha of their
ancestral land.
Their ancestral land area, around 243 ha of flat agricultural lands, used to be the seat of the
Higaonon tribe until a big landowner came in the 1930s and allegedly drove them away.
Ownership of the land, which is bound by Mt. Sayawan and Mt. Palaopao, changed several times
through the years until it was divided into two lots.
One lot, around 99 ha, went to Salvador Carlos, a Manila-based businessman and Norberto
Quisumbing, owner of the Cebu-based Yamaha Norkis manufacturing. The land was eventually
sold to SMC.
Carlos, however, declared in his will that 66 ha be given back to the farmers. (Walter I.
Balane/MindaNews)
Read more http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2013/10/15/better-days-for-sumilao-farmers6-years-after-walk-for-land-walk-for-justice/
------------------------Walk for Land, Walk for Justice
PANAW Sumilao MPC
San Vicente, Sumilao, Bukidnon
Contact no: +63-908-8849590
Position Paper on the Delayed Distribution of the 144-Hectare Land to Sumilao Farmers
We the Sumilao Farmers walked for more than 1,700 kilometers from Sumilao, Bukidnon to
Manila, which started on October 10, 2007 and reached Malacanang on December 18, 2007. We
demanded for the return of our 144-hectare ancestral land in Sumilao, Bukidnon.
On March 29, 2008, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed between the Sumilao
Farmers, San Miguel Corporation (SMC), Office of the President, Department of Agrarian
Reform (DAR) and the Church, thereby giving back the 144-hectare land to us. The next day, we
occupied and tilled the 50-hectare land which is part of the 144-hectare contested land. The
remaining 94 hectares will be immediately acquired outside the San Miguel Foods Incorporated
(SMFI) property.
Page 4, Section 2.02 of the MOA states, Land outside the SMFI Property in addition to the
above-describe property, SMFI shall acquire and/or cause the transfer of approximately Ninety
Four (94) Hectares of agricultural lands within Sumilao, Bukidnon, preferably within Barangay

San Vicente, to complete a total of One Hundred Forty-Four (144) hectares, in favor of the
qualified farmer- beneficiaries, from the list of properties presented by SMFI representatives x x
x.
It was only on April 16, 2010, or two years after the signing of Memorandum of Agreement with
San Miguel Corporation (SMC) and the Sumilao Farmers, that we received the first batch of
titles. During the awarding ceremony held at the gates of San Miguel Hog Farm in Sumilao,
Bukidnon, SMFI President Francis Alejo III turned over the title covering the 50 hectares within
the 144-hectare disputed property while DAR Regional Director Felix Aguhob awarded two (2)
Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOA) covering a total of 15 hectares which is outside
the contested land. Also witnessing the event were Bishop Honesto Pacana, Sumilao Mayor
Mary Ann Baula, SMC legal Counsel Atty. Fred Peaflor and Sumilao legal counsel Atty. Arlene
Bag-ao.
After the awarding ceremony, we the Sumilao Farmers went to the area were the 12-hectare land
is situated 12 kilometers away from San Vicente, Sumilao. We saw that the land was already
planted with pineapples by the Del Monte Philippines, Inc. (DMPI) The Certificate of Land
Ownership Award (CLOA) of the 12 hectares was registered on October 8, 2009. Whereas,
according to a DMPI representative the pineapple was planted on only on January 2010. During
our ocular inspection together with the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) on November
2009 there were no pineapples planted on the subject property. We have no knowledge if the
remaining 79 hectares to be distributed to the farmers are also planted with pineapples.
We understand that based on the MOA we signed last March 29, 2009, the remaining 94 hectares
of land to be distributed to the farmers outside the 144-hectare property is clean of any
encumbrances. We were dismayed of what we discovered during the awarding of the titles.
We appeal to our Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales to help us to find solution to our
problem and fast track the distribution of the remaining 79 hectares which should be clean of any
encumbrances.
We appeal to concerned sectors worldwide to send letters to Secretary Nasser Pangandaman of
the Department of Agrarian Reform in the Philippines to honor the promises this government
made to help us poor Sumilao farmers to finally own and till the land we have long struggled for.
Napoleon Yoyong Merida, Jr.
Chairperson, PANAW Sumilao MPC
San Vicente, Sumilao, Bukidnon
https://landwatchasia.wordpress.com/2010/05/01/interactive-forum-on-landrightsusenatural-resource-management-held-by-rights-link-lao-project/#more-104

Walk for Land, Walk for Justice

PANAW Sumilao MPC
San Vicente, Sumilao, Bukidnon
Contact no: +63-908-8849590
Position Paper on the Delayed Distribution of the 144-Hectare Land to Sumilao Farmers
We the Sumilao Farmers walked for more than 1,700 kilometers from Sumilao, Bukidnon to
Manila, which started on October 10, 2007 and reached Malacanang on December 18, 2007. We
demanded for the return of our 144-hectare ancestral land in Sumilao, Bukidnon.
On March 29, 2008, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed between the Sumilao
Farmers, San Miguel Corporation (SMC), Office of the President, Department of Agrarian
Reform (DAR) and the Church, thereby giving back the 144-hectare land to us. The next day, we
occupied and tilled the 50-hectare land which is part of the 144-hectare contested land. The
remaining 94 hectares will be immediately acquired outside the San Miguel Foods Incorporated
(SMFI) property.
Page 4, Section 2.02 of the MOA states, Land outside the SMFI Property in addition to the
above-describe property, SMFI shall acquire and/or cause the transfer of approximately Ninety
Four (94) Hectares of agricultural lands within Sumilao, Bukidnon, preferably within Barangay
San Vicente, to complete a total of One Hundred Forty-Four (144) hectares, in favor of the
qualified farmer- beneficiaries, from the list of properties presented by SMFI representatives x x
x.
It was only on April 16, 2010, or two years after the signing of Memorandum of Agreement with
San Miguel Corporation (SMC) and the Sumilao Farmers, that we received the first batch of
titles. During the awarding ceremony held at the gates of San Miguel Hog Farm in Sumilao,
Bukidnon, SMFI President Francis Alejo III turned over the title covering the 50 hectares within
the 144-hectare disputed property while DAR Regional Director Felix Aguhob awarded two (2)
Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOA) covering a total of 15 hectares which is outside
the contested land. Also witnessing the event were Bishop Honesto Pacana, Sumilao Mayor
Mary Ann Baula, SMC legal Counsel Atty. Fred Peaflor and Sumilao legal counsel Atty. Arlene
Bag-ao.
After the awarding ceremony, we the Sumilao Farmers went to the area were the 12-hectare land
is situated 12 kilometers away from San Vicente, Sumilao. We saw that the land was already
planted with pineapples by the Del Monte Philippines, Inc. (DMPI) The Certificate of Land
Ownership Award (CLOA) of the 12 hectares was registered on October 8, 2009. Whereas,
according to a DMPI representative the pineapple was planted on only on January 2010. During
our ocular inspection together with the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) on November
2009 there were no pineapples planted on the subject property. We have no knowledge if the
remaining 79 hectares to be distributed to the farmers are also planted with pineapples.

We understand that based on the MOA we signed last March 29, 2009, the remaining 94 hectares
of land to be distributed to the farmers outside the 144-hectare property is clean of any
encumbrances. We were dismayed of what we discovered during the awarding of the titles.
We appeal to our Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales to help us to find solution to our
problem and fast track the distribution of the remaining 79 hectares which should be clean of any
encumbrances.
We appeal to concerned sectors worldwide to send letters to Secretary Nasser Pangandaman of
the Department of Agrarian Reform in the Philippines to honor the promises this government
made to help us poor Sumilao farmers to finally own and till the land we have long struggled for.
Napoleon Yoyong Merida, Jr.
Chairperson, PANAW Sumilao MPC
San Vicente, Sumilao, Bukidnon
https://landwatchasia.wordpress.com/2010/05/01/interactive-forum-on-landrightsusenatural-resource-management-held-by-rights-link-lao-project/

Sumilao farmers march on

Lawyers file motion for reconsideration in Malacaang
On Day 5 of the Sumilao farmers March for Land through the municipalities of Kinoguitan,
Balingwan, Talisayan, and Medina in Misamis Oriental, one of them, known as Ka Tessie,
almost fainted. She, with several other farmers who joined the 60-day march to Manila that
began last October 10, 2007, has been showing signs of exhaustion.
But after being greeted by locals with food, water, and rally chants, they continued the 30kilometer walk to Medina that began yesterday at dawn after a modest breakfast of coffee and
bread. The farmers reached their target destination by 4:30 PM, inspired by the generous show of
support, that included Medinas parish priest blessing them at a Mass, bystanders joining the
march, and motorists blowing their vehicle horns and handing out donations. The tired
expression on the Sumilao farmers faces turned into determined resolve in their mass action for
agrarian reform. They are expected to arrive in Manila on December 10, 2007.
Meanwhile in Manila, their lawyers are adopting a similar attitude. Aison Garcia of the
alternative legal resource NGO, SALIGAN (Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal), cocounsel of the Sumilao farmers, filed a motion for reconsideration on the farmers petition to
cancel and/or revoke the conversion order on their land today at the Office of the President in
Malacaang.

Aside from scrapping the conversion order that wouldve transformed the irrigated land from
agricultural to agro-industrial property, Garcias group want the land immediately subjected to
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform (CARP) coverage and distributed to the qualified
beneficiaries.
The Sumilao farmers raised the petition directly before the Office of the President because
were unable to obtain a favorable response from the DAR (Department of Agrarian Reform)
Secretary (Nasser Pangandaman), said Garcia. He added that Pangandaman should have
ordered its cancellation due to the glaring violations of the conversion order by the NSQR
Management and Development Corporation, and San Miguel Foods Inc. that later bought the
property.
Cancellation of the Conversion Order and the subsequent distribution of the land to the landless
farmers will bring hope and a sense of justice not only to the present families of the Sumilao
farmers, most of whom belong to the Higaonon Indigenous Communities, but also to their
successors, said Garcia.
http://www.saligan.org/index.php/archives/66-sumilao-farmers-march-on.html

First Posted on Inside Mindanao (www.insidemindanao.com) on May 13, 2010

Remembering the promise of San Miguel Corp. to the Sumilao farmers

By Atty. Arlene "Kaka" Bagao
Brief background
When the government began implementing the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
(CARP) in the late 1980s, the 144hectare Higaonon ancestral land, which had come under
the ownership of Norberto Quisumbing thru the Norberto Quisumbing Sr. Management and
Development Corporation (NQSRMDC), was covered for distribution to 137 Higaonon
farmers. Bukidnon's provincial board, allegedly influenced by Quisumbing, passed a
resolution converting the said agricultural land into agroindustrial, even though under the
law, conversion was unavailable because the land was prime agricultural in character.
In 1997, the farmers staged a 28day hunger strike in Manila and Cagayan de Oro to press
their claim on the land. Then President Fidel V. Ramos issued a "WinWin Resolution,"
awarding 100 hectares of the contested land to the farmers and 44 hectares to Quisumbing.
The latter went to the Supreme Court, which invalidated the compromise agreement on
legal technicalities. But because the property remained an agricultural land after five years,
the farmers made another claim and invoked the CARP provision stating that any property
under land conversion should be developed within 5 years.
The land was subsequently sold to San Miguel Corporation (SMC) which began building a
piggery complex on the property. Ostensibly due to public pressure, President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo revoked the conversion order on the land, making it available once more
for agrarian reform. However, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) was slow to install
the farmerbeneficiaries on the land.
In 2007, 55 Sumilao farmers walked 1,700 kilometers from Bukidnon to Manila to enforce
their rights over the land. Their twomonth walk, called "Walk for Justice," attracted wide

media attention and overwhelming support from NGOs and different members of civil
society and forced SMC to negotiate with the farmers for a compromise.
Updates on the compromise agreement
On March 29, 2008, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed between the Sumilao
farmers, SMC, DAR, and the Office of the President. Representing the Church, which had
been instrumental in negotiating the compromise, was Manila Archbishop Gaudencio
Cardinal Rosales who served as witness to the agreement.
In the MOA, SMCrepresented by no less than its president Ramon Angpledged to give a
total of 144 hectares of land to the farmers. SMC promised to release 50 hectares of its
property and committed to acquire the remaining 94 hectares outside the disputed estate
for distribution to the farmers.
After the signing of the MOA, the farmers returned home and began to cultivate the 50
hectares of land covered in the agreement. Thereafter, numerous meetings were held
between the Sumilao farmers, SMC, and DAR to discuss and follow up on the
implementation of the MOA. SMC and DAR promised several times to acquire the remaining
94 hectares and award the land titles to the farmers, however, these deadlines were not
met. The farmers complain that these delays are due to the actions of SMC and DAR, which
are not in accordance with the agreement.
In September 2008, the farmers decided to accept DAR's offer of 94 hectares of land, even
if said properties were located a considerable distance, 10 to 15 kilometers away, from their
home in San Vicente, Sumilao. DAR had warned that if they did not accept the offer, the
lands would be conveyed to other farmerbeneficiaries. Hence, the farmers felt they had no
other option but to accept the offer.
On November 24, 2009, the farmers were once again disappointed because although there
was already a Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) covering 15 of the 94 hectares to
be awarded to them, DAR said that the CLOA for the remaining 79 hectares could not yet be
processed because the department was still waiting for the certification from the Land
Registration Authority (LRA) in Manila and that this process was taking a long time.
Frustrated by the slow pace of the MOA implementation, the farmers decided to camp in
front of the San Miguel Hog Farm on February 8, 2010 in order to protest the delays in the
awarding and distribution of the land. On that day, and in the presence of SMC legal counsel
Atty. Fred Peaflor, DAR Regional Director Felix Agujob promised the farmers that they
would be installed in their lands on or before March 29, 2010, the date of the second
anniversary of the MOA signing.
March 29 came but the promised titles failed to materialize. A dialogue was scheduled on
that day between the parties concerned, however, Atty. Peaflor failed to appear. It was only
on April 16, 2010, or more than two years after the signing of the MOA, that the farmers
received the first batch of titles.
During the awarding ceremony held near the San Miguel Hog Farm in Sumilao, Bukidnon,
San Miguel Foods, Inc. President Francis Alejo III turned over the title covering the 50
hectares within the 144hectare contested property, while DAR Regional Director Aguhob
awarded the CLOA covering a total of 15 hectares outside the disputed land. Bishop Honesto
Pacana, Sumilao Mayor Mary Ann Baula, SMC legal counsel Atty. Peaflor, and Sumilao legal
counsel Atty. Arlene "Kaka" Bagao witnessed the event.

Immediately afterwards, the farmers went to the 15hectare land in Sitio Larok, Barangay
Kisolon, Sumilao, which is more than 12 kilometers away from their homes in Barangay San
Vicente. The farmers, however, were shocked and dismayed to learn that their land was not
only leased to another corporation, Del Monte Philippines, Inc. (DMPI), but was also planted
with the latter's pineapples. Feeling angry and cheated, the farmers uprooted the pineapples
with the help of a tractor. They tilled the land and began to plant cassava.
DMPI thru its legal counsel has threatened to file a case against the farmers for destroying
Del Monte's crops. Napoleon "Yoyong" Merida Jr., Chairperson of the PANAWSumilao
Mapalad Multipurpose Cooperative (PANAWSumilao MPC) and paralegal for the Sumilao
farmers, has welcomed any legal action from DMPI, and he reiterated the Sumilao farmers'
position that they had the right to do what they did because they owned the land.
Gross violation of the MOA
According to Merida, the implementation of the MOA is marred not only by administrative
delays, but also by gross violations on the part of SMC and DAR.
The lands offered by San Miguel Corporation to the farmers are subject of legal disputes.
One such example is the 15 hectares covered by the CLOA issued to the farmers. Said
property was originally owned by the family of Sumilao Mayor Baula and is currently leased
to DMPI. The Baula family then sold this land to SMC, which in turn gave the properties to
DAR for awarding and distribution to the farmers.
This constitutes gross violation of the MOA on the part of SMC, which expressly guaranteed
that all of the 144 hectares to be awarded to the farmers would be clean and free from any
encumbrance. SMC is responsible and it cannot hide behind the excuse that it lacked
knowledge of the subsisting lease agreement because it is the buyer of the property.
Knowing that the land is being leased and is part of the Del Monte plantation, SMC should
not have offered this land to DAR for distribution to the farmers.
More importantly, the MOA stipulated that the 94 hectares that will be offered by San Miguel
will be in the same condition as the original 94 hectares that the Sumilao farmers claimed.
When the farmers walked for more than 1,700 kilometers from Bukidnon to Malacanang in
Manila, they left the 144 hectares barren, without any crops planted because they have
been prevented since 1997 when they were forcefully evicted from their ancestral land by
Norberto Quisumbing. It is only expected that the offered 94 hectares will be in the same
condition, no contests, no claimants, no encumbrances, not leased to Del Monte and not
planted with threemonth's old pineapple. After two years since the signing of the
agreement in 2008, San Miguel is already liable for damages incurred by the Sumilao
farmers for not being able to cultivate the 94 hectares including loss of expected income.
Together with the numerous delays which have plagued the implementation of the MOA, this
incident shows that SMC is not really serious or sincere in fulfilling its commitments. SMC's
actions betray its claim of good faith and compliance. It cannot wash its hands and point the
finger at DAR or DMPI because its lack of diligence exhibits bad faith in dealing with the
farmers.
DAR is not without fault as well. It has promised many times that the farmers would receive
the titles to their lands. Administrative delays, however, continue to hound the processing of
the titles. To this date, more than two years after the signing of the MOA, 79 of the 144
hectares promised to the farmers still remain without a CLOA.
DAR should also not have accepted SMC's offer to give the 15hectare land to the farmers

when said land is covered under a lease agreement. As Merida put it, it would be a "fake"
CLOA issued by DAR to the farmers, if the latter cannot do what they, as rightful owners and
beneficiaries of the land, are entitled to under the law.
Sumilao farmers face suit
For asserting their right of ownership over the 15 hectares of land, the Sumilao farmers are
now facing a possible suit from yet another corporation, Del Monte Philippines, Inc.
The CLOA covering the 15 hectares was registered on October 8, 2009; the title bore no
indication of any encumbrance. During the ocular inspection conducted in November 2009,
there were no pineapples on the subject property. DMPI planted the pineapples sometime in
January 2010, or after the CLOA was registered in favor of the farmers.
The dispute could have been avoided and the farmers peaceably installed in their land if
only DMPI respected the farmer's rights and desisted from planting the pineapples. DMPI is
charged with knowledge of the CLOA because its registration happened prior to the planting
of the pineapples. The Sumilao farmers have every right as lawful owners to remove the
said crops on their land and replace them with their own.
Remembering Ka Rene
SMC and DAR have once more promised to install the Sumilao farmers to their land by June
5, 2010, exactly one year after the death of renowned leader and paralegal of the Sumilao
farmers Ka Rene Peas, who in 2007 led the group in their 1,700kilometer walk from
Bukidnon to Manila to demand the return of their ancestral land. Ka Rene was assassinated
on June 5, 2009, on his way home to his farm in Sumilao, Bukidnon after the successful
enactment of the CARP Extension with Reforms (CARPER).
The Sumilao farmers have declared that if SMC and DAR fail to honor their commitments
under the MOA, the farmers will consider such failure a denial of justice and an affront to
the sacrifice of Ka Rene. If their demand is not honored, the farmers would claim back their
original 144 hectares of land in regardless of SMC's promises.
END

http://www.insidemindanao.com/article147.html

Sumilao farmers: marching protesters of the past; todays

agri-entrepreneurs
Posted on October 11, 2011 by Bukidnon News

SAN VICENTE, Sumilao, Bukidnon (Bukidnon News Dispatch/10 October) Every day, Sumilao
farmer Wenefrido San-ajan, 39, wakes up at 4a.m. and goes straight to his farm. Jun-jun as he is
called by neighbors, tills almost a hectare of corn farm. But he said since he started learning
about vegetable gardening in 2008, he has changed his attitude towards farming.
Jun-jun, father of three, earns at least P300 per day from sales of produce from his garden of
pechay, eggplant, string beans, ampalaya, cabbage, and bell onions. This income from the 1,000square meter plot beside his corn farm is a far cry from his meager income in previous years
relying only to income from corn just enough to pay loans.

With this I am confident I can send at least a child to college, he told Bukidnon News after he
was asked to speak Monday of his experience as a farmer who shifted from corn-only to
diversified plants farming in the 4th anniversary of their famous 1,700-walk for land, walk for
justice to Manila.
From squabbles over their lack of land to till, Sumilao farmers of the Panaw Sumilao Multipurpose Cooperative now talk about pushing for diversified organic farming.
We want to tell the world that we are not only good in marching. We can also do well in
farming. We should not only be bright in protesting but also in tilling the land, he added.
Before, they cried for land and justice; now the farmers new fight is how to make the land
distributed to them through agrarian reform become more productive, Napoleon Merida Jr, the
groups chairperson said.
Four years after their 69-day walk to Manila, Merida recalled that their problems before were
mostly on fighting for their land. But now he said they face new problems like who should dry
their corn grains first amidst limited solar dryers.
Merida announced during the commemoration held in a warehouse they built using government
funds that the farmers have already planted corn and cassava to 41 hectares of the 50-hectare
area first turned over to them as part of the 144-hectare land distributed to them through agrarian
reform.
The Sumilao farmers hogged the headlines in 2007 when they marched from Sumilao town in
Bukidnon to Manila to press their claim on a 144-hectare estate in their place under the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. Eventually, the farmers received a total of 147
hectares.
The farmers planned to use the 50-hectare area in San Vicente into family-operated organic farms
using the Natural Farming Technology. The 97 hectares from other villages in Sumilao will be
used for industrial crops.
Merida, who cited that his gaining weight was one sign of progress, cited that a lot has changed
among their members.
Sa una galakaw-lakaw ra mi nga marag walay tumong (We used to walk around aimlessly).
Now about 50 of our members already have motorcycles, he added to the applause of about 200
people including coop members and guests from groups who have been supporting the farmers
over the years.
About 70 percent of the farmers, Merida added, have paid up their amortization of the P2-million
soft loan the Department of Agrarian Reform extended to them. Other government and nongovernment donors also extended support to the farmers, he added.
He also cited that the Department of Budget and Management has approved their request for a
P5-million building project for their products.

The farmers have envisioned a professionally managed cooperative, computerized business

operations, sustainable diversification of family-operated farms; productive, diversified, and
profitable communal farms run by the cooperative; value-added products and access to market
networks; improved access to social services including housing, education, and potable water.
But Merida said they needed the stakeholders continuing support to sustain their gains. He said
they have identified a total of 56 hectares that is suitable for farming that they could not till
because they have no funds yet especially for land preparation.
They also needed additional farm equipment like a tractor and dryers, he said.
Merida said they, too, needed not just help in production but also in access to the market.
He urged the members to do their best in order that they can show the stakeholders that they
deserved to receive the land distributed to them.
We want to work out that we can develop the area even without the help of the big companies,
through our hard work, he added. In the entrance to the hall where the commemoration was
held, the women of the village served snacks from root crops planted in their gardens. They have
also displayed some of their products like soft brooms and the famous Sumilao corn coffee.
Merida thanked the stakeholders who helped them including government agencies like the
Department of Agrarian Reform and the Department of Agriculture , civil society organizations
like Akbayan, Kaanib Foundation, the Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka
(Pakisama)-Palambu and Balaod Mindanaw, the Catholic Relief Services, Xavier University and
other organizations.
He said they used to quarrel with DAR, now they are our partners, he added.
Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, who celebrated the mass Monday with Malaybalay bishop Jose
Cabantan and Sumilao Christ the King parish priest Danilo Paciente, said the Sumilao farmers
gains in farming could be a model in the country. He said other agrarian reform beneficiaries
should learn from the model of development employed in the experience of Sumilao farmers.
The others should know about their experience, he said. He added in program after the mass
that he welcomed the plans of the farmers because it really came from them.
Bishop Cabantan said the farmers journey has never ended yet.
After getting the land, the struggle continues to make good use of Gods gift, he added.
Akbayan Rep. Arlene Bag-ao, who was the groups lawyer from Balaod Mindanao, said the new
campaign has began for the farmers to work out their plans.
She cited that the farmers and the support groups who helped them went through very difficult
times.

But she said now that they have achieved their goals the farmers must be mindful of their big
responsibility as models to other farm groups who were inspired by their struggle and victory.
Wala sa gawas ang kalambuan, naa sa sulod ang gahum nga mulampos (Development is not
from outside. The power to succeed is from within), she added in her emotional speech where
she relayed her joy in the success of the farmers. Farmer Jun-jun San-ajan, the first among the
Sumilao farmers to work fully on his diversified farm said the ball is in their hands now.
He said he never expected that landless farmers like him who earned just enough to pay debts
from financiers could ever reach this far. After receiving training from agricultural technicians,
Jun-jun vows to become a trainer among his fellow farmers. (Walter I. Balane/Bukidnon News)
http://bukidnonews.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/sumilao-farmers-marchingprotesters-of-the-past-today%E2%80%99s-agri-entrepreneurs/

PAKISAMAs Statement on the Sumilao Settlement

Agreement
PRESS RELEASE on the SUMILAO SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
Reference: PAKISAMA (Soc Banzuela, 09177188986), pakisama_pilipinas@yahoo.com
Thanks But No Thanks
Today, March 29, 2008, one of the most important land reform battles in Philippine history
comes closely to an end. The Sumilao farmers will ink a Settlement Agreement with San Miguel
Corporation, to be witnessed by the Government and the Church leaders, by lunch time in San
Carlos Seminary in Makati .
The Settlement agreement provides for the Sumilao farmers to get back 50 of their 144-hectare
ancestral land through a deed of donation from San Miguel Corporation and get another 94
hectares through a voluntary offer to sale (VOS) scheme of the Department of Agrarian Reform
in adjacent properties in Sumilao, Bukidnon in the coming days or months.
Halu-halo ang aming nadarama. Natutuwa kaming malapit nang matapos ang kampanya ng
Sumilao farmers. Natutuwa kami para sa kanila ngunit may awa ring nadarama. Nagagalit kami
sa mga ginawa ng San Miguel Corporation at lalo na ng Pamahalaang Arroyo (We have mixed
feelings. We are happy the Sumilao campaign is nearing an end. We are happy for the Sumilao
farmers but also pity them. We are angry at the various actions of San Miguel Corporation and
the Arroyo government! said Crispino Aguelo, President of the Pambansang Kilusan ng mga
Samahang Magsasaka, a national confederation of peasant federations (PAKISAMA).
PAKISAMA joins the Filipino people in congratulating the Sumilao farmers. After almost two
decade of persistent non-violent struggle, they are about to get 144 hectares of land though most
of them are not the ancestral land they have been fighting for and the presence of serious

prohibitions. This to us is not a full victory but victory nevertheless to the Sumilao farmers
especially in the context where the Arroyo government and landlord San Miguel Corporation
have combined forces to thwart their claims, said Aguelo.
Clearly, the Sumilao story as covered intensively by media, points to the Sumilao farmers
gaining land, not because of the commitment of government to the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program (CARP). Otherwise the Sumilao farmers need not have to undertake a 1700
kilometer march .and need not have taken three years to resolve. Nor it was because of the
commitment of SMC to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Otherwise it did not launch a
coordinated campaign to divide and rule the Sumilao farmers, undermine the Sumilao farmers
and their supporters credibility, and imposed serious disempowering conditionalities in their
donated 50-hectare property, Aguelo added.
PAKISAMA believes it was the unprecedented 1,700 -kilometer march of the Sumilao farmers
and the broad support they generated from serious civil society institutions especially the Church
that posed a serious threat to the Presidents political survival and eventually forced the Palace
and SMC to blink.
Amidst the looming rice crisis and the continuous landlord resistance to CARP, PAKISAMA
calls on fellow farmers organizations to close ranks and start a broader nationwide walk until
CARP is extended and reformed and until a new government is installed that will demonstrate
true commitment to the cause of the farmers.
PAKISAMA STATEMENT ON THE SUMILAO CASE
Today, March 29, 2008, one of the most important land reform battles in Philippine history
comes closely to an end. The Sumilao farmers will ink a Settlement Agreement with San Miguel
Corporation, to be witnessed by the Government and the Church leaders, by lunch time in San
Carlos Seminary in Makati .
The Settlement agreement provides for the Sumilao farmers to get back 50 of their 144-hectare
ancestral land through a deed of donation from San Miguel Corporation and get another 94
hectares through a voluntary offer to sale (VOS) scheme of the Department of Agrarian Reform
in adjacent properties in Sumilao, Bukidnon in the coming days or months.
Halu-halo ang aming nadarama. Natutuwa kaming malapit nang matapos ang kampanya ng
Sumilao farmers. Natutuwa kami para sa kanila ngunit may awa ring nadarama. Nagagalit kami
sa mga ginawa ng San Miguel Corporation at lalo na ng Pamahalaang Arroyo (We have mixed
feelings. We are happy the Sumilao campaign is nearing an end. We are happy for the Sumilao
farmers but also pity them. We are angry at the various actions of San Miguel Corporation and
the Arroyo government! said Crispino Aguelo, President of the Pambansang Kilusan ng mga
Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA).
PAKISAMA joins the Filipino people in congratulating the Sumilao farmers. After almost two
decade of persistent non-violent struggle, they are about to get 144 hectares of land though most
of them are not the ancestral land they have been fighting for and the presence of serious

prohibitions. This to us is not a full victory but victory nevertheless to the Sumilao farmers
especially in the context where the Arroyo government and landlord San Miguel Corporation
have combined forces to thwart their claims.
The Sumilao farmers deserve recognition as well for their highly remarkable and respectable
contribution to Agrarian Reform in the Philippines by serving as an inspiration to millions of
landless Filipino farmers. Through their 1,700 kilometer walk in October-December 2007
(among many non-violent protests they launched in the past i.e., a land occupation campaign,
two hunger strikes, Jubilee Pilgrimage) they have ignited once again the concern on Agrarian
Reform and they have inspired the commencement of other walks of several thousands of
Filipino farmers all over the country for the same purpose of getting their rightfully- owned
lands.
PAKISAMA joins the Sumilao farmers, in thanking thousands of individuals and organizations
here and abroad who generously shared legal, moral, social, political, intellectual, logistical and
financial support to the campaign. Without the hundreds of peoples organizations, nongovernment organizations, churches, schools, media agencies, local government offices and
sections of government, and kindred volunteers, the farmers wouldnt have reached this far
literally and figuratively.
Today the Arroyo administration will claim its facilitating role to end the Sumilao crisis in a winwin arrangement. It may present it as its expression of commitment to fight poverty. We cannot
avoid, however, to express a different opinion and instead our condemnation and anger over the
Arroyo Administrations actions on the case over the past three years.
This struggle of the Sumilao farmers clearly reflects the corrupted state of this government.
Supposedly entrusted by the Filipino people to enforce the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law
which in essence is a law tilt in favor of the farmers, it chose to be a biased mediator in favor of
big business, and in this case, the San Miguel Corporation.
In the very first place, the Sumilao farmers need not have to undertake that long and difficult 60day 1,700- kilometer march had this government acted with dispatch on their petition in
November 2004. No less than the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) had already noted the
SMC violation of the 5-year land development period. The Sumilao farmers need not have to
come back here in Manila and do a Jericho March had this government enforced its December 18
revocation order. Instead, it remained deaf to the calls of the Sumilao farmers for a cease and
desist order and immediate issuance of notice of CARP coverage. It conveniently allowed SMC
to continue its construction activities and destroyed the top soil of a significant area of the
contested irrigated agricultural land. It waited and attended the negotiations, eventually
facilitating it to finish immediately only so the noise will likewise end.
With no cease and desist order and notice of CARP coverage much more a land title in their
hands, the Sumilao farmers, while having the continuous support of Cardinal Rosales and the
Church, were not in a very strong bargaining position in the negotiations that followed with San
Miguel Corporation. Eventually, given the real prospects of losing in the Supreme Court

especially after its most recent 9-6 decision in favor of Neris silence, the Sumilao farmers
succumbed to accepting a Settlement agreement that included some disempowering provisions.
Likewise, San Miguel Corporation will extract the best public relations juice on this settlement
agreement. It will claim its land donation to be an expression of its corporate social
responsibility. To us, however, that is not a donation but a short-changed compensation to the
Sumilao farmers losing their invaluable 94- hectare ancestral land to the SMCs piggery
business, and to the loss in income they could have derived since that land was awarded to them
in 1995.
We also condemn the conditionalities imposed by SMC to the Sumilao farmers in exchange to
the 50- hectare donation such as 1) the Sumilao farmers to organize a new cooperative that will
receive the donated property and the succeeding 94 hectares, 2) the prohibition to the Sumilao
farmers to plant fruit trees, raise hogs, and build permanent dwellings anywhere within the
donated 50 hectares, and the 3) re-instatement of the Torres decision in the 94 hectares within
the 144-hectare contested property, thus, effectively revoking the December 18 Presidential
order, the one thing the farmers won in their 1,700 kilometer march. We strongly feel these
conditionalities are acts to disempower and diminish the efforts and impact of the Sumilao
farmers.
We also hope the Settlement Agreement would put to end end the divide and rule game being
played by SMC in the Sumilao community, induce SMC to correct the assorted lies in SMCsponsored front page-paid ads out to destroy the credibility of the Sumilao farmers and their
supporters, and put an end to efforts at bending the law in their favor for the purpose of SMCs
so-called development plans.
We learned three bitter lessons/concerns in the Sumilao Case.
First, it is possible for landless farmers to get land even faced with powerful adversaries such as
a corrupt government and cunning multinational corporation. But they can never get these lands
like a walk in the park. Only if they are able to organize themselves and conduct a disciplined
and persistent non-violent action and are able to get the support of powerful civil society
institutions especially the Church enough to pose a threat to the continuous stay in office of the
President will the balance of forces tilt in favor of the farmers. But even, then, they must be
prepared to settle and compromise.
Second, there may be Corporations who will be emboldened by the SMC-Sumilao farmers
settlement agreement and take the wrong cue of violating with impunity the agrarian reform laws
with the hope that if caught and become so publicly controversial, they can do an SMC-Sumilao
deal.
Third, the Arroyo government will not most likely implement the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Law forcefully even amidst very strong clamor from broad civil society organizations
including the Church. At best it will mediate a settlement.

These lessons point to us farmers and agrarian reform advocates who see the importance of
agrarian reform as basis for national development and industrialization to forge build stronger
organizations among ourselves and forge greater solidarity with civil society organizations. They
also point to the need for us to exert greater vigilance in our communities. And finally if we hope
to ensure a speedy distribution of the remaining 1.3 million hectares covered by CARP, we must
seriously consider participating in the broader campaign to build a strong reform constituency
that will help extend and reform CARP and install a new government that would have the
commitment to implement it.
ANNEX:
PAKISAMA salutes the Sumilao farmers for their three important contributions to Philippine
society.
One, their Christian witnessing to truth and justice through persistent non-violent action. Two,
their positive impact to fellow farmers, students, churches and the Filipinos as a whole. And
three, their significant influence to agrarian reform and national development.
Christian[1] witnessing to truth and justice through Active Non-Violence[2]
They waged over the past decade two popular non-violent mass campaigns on agrarian reform, a
28-day hunger strike and a 60-day 1,700-kilometer cross-country walk both catching national
attention and pushed two Presidents of the Republic to recognize their just claim to 144-hectare
ancestral land.
In 1997, 17 of 137 landless farmers from Sumilao, Bukidnon staged a 28-day hunger strike in
Manila and Cagayan de Oro to reclaim a 144-hectare prime and irrigated ancestral agricultural
land earlier (1995) awarded to them under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
(CARP) of the government but then subsequently converted to other uses and returned by the
Office of the President to the previous land-owner (Quisumbing). President Ramos recognized
the legitimacy of their claim and awarded them100 of the 144 hectares. However, the Supreme
Court, on a technicality (late submission by the Department of Agrarian Reform of Motion for
Reconsideration) reversed Ramos win-win decision and returned the entire property to the
Quisumbings.
Ten years later, in the last quarter of 2007, 55 of the 170 members of the Sumilao community
walked 1,700 kilometers from their village to Malacaang Palace over a two month period to
reclaim again the contested property. The Quisumbings did not implement its purported
development plan within the 5-year period in clear violation of the strict rules on land conversion
but sold the property to San Miguel Corporation which started to build a piggery complex not
included and far different from the previously-approved development plan. Sixty nine days after
they started their walk, the President revoked the earlier land conversion order of her office
setting the stage for the coverage of the property under agrarian reform.
Positive impact to fellow farmers, students, churches and the Filipinos as a whole

In both campaigns, the Sumilao farmers inspired support and participation of the broadest
sections[3] of Philippine society especially the churches and students[4] and catalyzed fellow
farmers[5] to wage similar non-violent initiatives to claim their land rights.
The hunger strike caught national attention achieving a 46% awareness level among Filipino
adults and virtual unanimous support (90) to their cause according to a 1997 Social Weather
Stations Survey. The cross-country walk was joined in by at least three thousand individuals and
three hundred organizations across the country and was in front pages of major dailies and
television channels in over a month.
Students and faculty of various schools including the Ateneo de Manila University accompanied
and hosted the Sumilao farmers in their hunger strike and marches. A score of Bishops led by
Jaime Cardinal Sin (1997) Sin and Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales (2007-2008) and Jesuit
Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, Bishops Francisco Claver and Pacana, and the CBCP-NASSA
Chair Broderick Pabillo and their respective arch/dioceses also lent a helping hand by providing
food, lodging accommodation, written statements of support and actual presence in Masses and
dialogues with government officials.
A similar hunger strike was waged by a group of landless farmers from Negros in early 2007,
whose groups name was taken from the Sumilao farmers cooperative (MAPALAD Multipurpose Cooperative), the Task Force MAPALAD. Following the cross- country walk of the
Sumilao farmers in 2007, several farmer groups followed long distance walk such as the Task
Force Mapalad in Negros, mobilizing 5,000 farmers in a three-day 100-kilometer walk around
the island of Negros . Farmers from Hacienda Yulo in Luzon also waged a 14-day walk. Just
recently, the broad peasant movement advocating the extension and reformed implementation of
the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program beyond June 2008 has decided to do marches in
the coming 100 days and adopted the symbol: foot, to signify their broad unity and commitment
to walk.
Significant influence to agrarian reform and national development
Both campaigns helped educate the broad public and policy makers on the importance of the
Constitutional mandate to develop the nation by undertaking agrarian reform.
At the height of the 1997 hunger strike, various opinion leaders debated the importance of
agrarian reform to national development. Eventually, no less than the Office of the President
certified as urgent bill the passage of the CARP Fund Augmentation Bill. Three months after, a
new law was enacted providing 50 billion pesos to CARP s implementation for a ten-year
program extension (1998-2008) allowing the distribution of some two million hectares of land
during the period.
The Sumilao Walk for Land and Justice likewise revived the public debate on the importance of
agrarian reform. San Miguel Corporation and the Federation of Philippine Industries justified the
state- of- the- art piggery business built on the contested property in Sumilao arguing growth and
productivity while 20 Ateneo de Manila economics professors defended the Sumilao farmers
claim to the land arguing the role of agrarian reform in the success of neighboring economies

such as South Korea and Taiwan. The Sumilao farmers case has been featured in a couple of
recent Congressional hearings debating whether or not to extend CARP.
[1] Most of the Sumilao farmers are Higaonons but baptized Christians (Catholics and
Protestants). The Jesuit Vincent Cullen was well known to them. Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales,
who worked for ten years in Bukidnon as Bishop, later would testify, he knew them personally.
[2] The Sumilao farmers have a cooperative, the MAPALAD Multipurpose Cooperative
organized by an NGO based in Bukidnon (Kaanib Fdtn), and pioneered by a couple of Xavier
University graduates. MAPALAD is a member of the national federation Pambansang Kilusan
ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA) which trained members on the principles and
methods of active non-violence (ANV). Peter Tuminghay, a leader of MAPALAD, underwent a
trainers training course on ANV sponsored by PAKISAMA in early 90s.
[3] Includes broad movement of agrarian reform-focused Peoples Organizations (e.g., ARNow!),
the national movement of non-government organizations (e.g.. CODE-NGO, PMP), major print
and broadcast media (e.g., PDI, ABS-CBN, GMA 7), and even government agencies and
individuals especially from the Department of Agrarian Reform.
March 30th, 2008 in Other News |
http://asianfarmers.org/?p=452

The Sumilao Farmers: Fighting for Justice

and Human Dignity
January 13, 2008
Woe to you who enact unjust statutes and who write oppressive decrees, depriving the needy
of judgment and robbing my peoples poor of their rights. (Isaiah 10:1-2)
My dear people of God:
Peace!
I would like to bring to your attention for reflection, discussion and action an issue which has
been given extensive coverage in mass media.
This is about the farmers of Barangay San Vicente, Sumilao, Bukidnon and their continuing
struggle against injustice.

Let us recall that in 1996 the 144 hectares of the land claimed by the Sumilao farmers were
awarded to 137 of them as beneficiaries. However, through machinations of power and money,
the land was converted from agricultural to agro-industrial in 1998.
Though this resolution was legally questionable, the Sumilao farmers respected the decision of
the Supreme Courtthat the land can be converted to an agro-industrial status within a five-year
period. However, none of the conditions and provisions contained in the conversion order was
fulfilled at the end of the term. Hence, by law, the land must revert back to its original
agricultural status open once again to CARP.
In view of this, the Office of the President issued an Executive Order (EO) revoking the
Conversion Order for not complying with the rules of conversion. However the EO does not
include a Cease and Desist Order for the company to stop its hog shelter construction activities;
neither does it include the necessary Notice of Coverage.
Let us not forget that over and above legalities, the Sumilao concern is a moral one. It is about
the dignity of the human person. It is about justice and human rights. It is about their right to be
heard. It is about a people fighting for freedom, refusing to be controlled by external dictates,
struggling to stand up, for the right to determine his own future.
The question may be asked. Is it right for the rich to own everything and let the poor remain
slaves to the caprices and whims of good and generous employers? The Sumilao farmers
answer is No.
Hence, we witness once again an exemplar of the indomitable Filipino spirit in this small group
of people. Perhaps, insignificant to society in terms of status and number. They were even
unpopular in their own district (No prophet is acceptable in his hometown (Lk. 4:24), yet these
people walked 1,700 kilometers, through mud and dust, cold rain and scorching concrete,
plagued with disease, fever and fatigue. They have awakened our conscience and made us aware
that there is something very wrong in our society.
For us, however, the issue is far more significant. When we see these people unfazed by a
colossal corporation, standing up to claim what is theirslegally, and morally, it becomes for us
a question of our spiritual standing: whether we are truly children of God, source of all that is
life-giving in this seemingly hopeless world. Dare we remain in the
background, deaf and mute?
My dear People, let not apathy, cynicism, faithlessness, hopelessness or pessimism grip our
hearts! We are Christians, people of hope. What we hope for we have already attained in
substance albeit partially. The risen Lord with us is already, an assurance of victory over sin and
death.
Let us hope and pray, then, that these urgent concerns facing the country will find a peaceful
resolution soon before it is too late.

Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us!

+HONESTO Ch. PACANA, SJ, DD
Bishop of Malaybalay
January 13, 2008
http://cbcponline.net/nrc2/?p=22

SMC Completes Turnover Of Land To

Sumilao Farmers
November 11, 2010
On the third anniversary of their dramatic march for land, the Panaw Sumilao
farmers of Sumilao, Bukidnon received a total of 147 hectares of land which they
plan to develop into a corn and cassava farm.
The farmers had laid claim to an SMC-owned estate on which the companys
subsidiary, San Miguel Foods Inc. (SMFI), had built a state-of-the-art hog farm.
In the end, San Miguel chose to simply donate a portion of the contested property to
help alleviate the farmers plight. It also pledged to help them acquire more lands
outside its property.
The farmers became landowners after SMC donated to them 50 hectares within its
property. This was followed by the turnover to the farmers, as beneficiaries under
the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, of a total of 97 hectares outside the
property, comprised of 84 hectares distributed in June and 13 hectares distributed
recently.
The farmers received their certificates of land title from Dept. of Agrarian Reform
Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes, Undersecretary Jerry Pacturan, and representatives
from San Miguel Foods Inc. and the San Miguel Foundation.
Panaw Sumilao chairperson Napoleon Yoyong Merida, said that the land will be
used to plant corn and cassava.
He added that they already have a warehouse for harvested crops, a solar dryer,
corn miller, corn shredder, mechanical dryer, and a water system.
SMFI meanwhile said it can buy the farmers produce, primarily corn and cassava,
for its feed raw material requirements.

Merida also asked SMC and other stakeholders for additional support in the form of
capability and skills training, marketing support, livelihood opportunities for
farmers wives, spiritual assistance, a day care center, college and vocational
scholarships, housing, and additional farm equipment.
The SMFI hog farm currently provides employment for many locals in Sumilao and
has helped boost the local economy.
The firm, through the San Miguel Foundation, also funds and operates the Sumilao
Community Clinic, which provides free medical consultations and medicines for
people with common ailments and hypertension. The clinic covers 10 barangays.
It has also established a Community Store and a Community Training Center where
technical and vocational courses are offered by the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (Tesda).
http://www.sanmiguel.com.ph/news/page/757/SMC_completes_turnover_of_land_to_
Sumilao_farmers.html

Sumilao peasant leader shot dead in

Bukidnon
June 6, 2009 10:02am
Tags: Bukidnon
MALAYBALAY CITY, Philippines The peasant activist who led his fellow farmers in
walking all the from Sumilao, Bukidnon in Mindanao to Manila in 2007 to seek justice was shot
dead Friday midnight, police and the victim's family said on Saturday.
Rene Peas, 51, and two others were riding a motorcycle on their way home when they were
fired at by an unidentified assailant using a shotgun, said SPO4 Rey Vasquez, acting police chief
of Sumilao town.
Peas, a barangay (village) councilman in San Vicente, died of a gunshot wound on his left chest,
Vasquez said.
His two other companions, Eliezer Peas and Samson Dollete, also suffered injuries but both
were sent home after being treated at the Provincial Hospital in Bukidnon.
"The assailants were on the left side of the road. Peas tried to crawl but he was again shot,"
Vasquez told GMANEWS.TV.

Noland Peas, the victim's eldest child, said the trio were shot when they were driving along the
darkest stretch going to his father's farmhouse to drop off Eliezer, a relative and caretaker of the
farmhouse.
Noland said that two men allegedly were seen running away after the shooting. He said the
police had already conducted crime scene investigation.
When asked of the motive of the killing, Noland told GMANEWS.TV on a mobile telephone
interview that his father's death was probably related to a land issue he currently handled.
"My father had recently been consulted by CLOA holder beneficiaries in another land claims
here. Perhaps, this is a possible motive of his killing," Noland said without elaborating so as not
to hamper the police's investigation.
A CLOA is a certificate of land ownership award given by the Department of Agrarian Reform to
farmer-beneficiaries of the governments Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
Rene Peas was one of the participants in the 1,770-kilometer walk for land, walk for justice"
of Sumilao farmers in October 2007 to prod the government to award the land long denied them
due to the manipulations of a landlord.
He was also one of the pioneers of the Mapalad hunger strike in 1997, and one of the leaders of
the community organizers of the 444-kilometer walk of Banassi farmers in Ula, Camarines Sur.
When the CARP Extension with Reform (Carper) bill was passed in the lower house on
Wednesday his son Noland said his father was already in Sumilao.
"He came home on May 30 and was so jubilant when the Carper has been passed on Wednesday
and quoted his father saying "Nidaug na ta!" (We have won!).
Last March, Peas was elected as national vice president of peasant organization Pakisama.
Peas' remains were brought to a funeral home in Impasug-ong town, the wake will be later held
in his home in San Vicente in Sumilao town.
Balaod Mindanaw, a non-government organization helping farmers on legal matters, will send a
team to investigate the death of Peas, according to lawyer Noemi Batula, the organization's
managing director.
"We condemn the death of Rene. It is so painful to lose a great farmer leader who aggressively
push forward the Carper and the other land campaigns which he strongly advocated. We demand
justice for his death, we are holding our own investigation to his death," Batula said.
Batula said she was surprised to hear Peas' death since he was in Manila before he came home
on May 30. "I only knew that he was back home when I heard the news that he was shot dead
Friday midnight," Batula said.a

Rene left behind his wife Evangeline, 55, Noland, 27, Wopsyjenn, 26, Jerald, 24, Realynme, 16
and his two-week old grandson. - GMANews.TV
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/164242/news/regions/sumilao-peasantleader-shot-dead-in-bukidnon

Philippines: Arroyo Using Sumilao Farmers for Media

Mileage
20 December 2007

Sumilao farmers problem just the tip of RP land problem!-KMP

The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) revealed that the Sumilao case is just the
tip of the Philippine land problem and that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo just used them for media
mileage yesterday. According to Rafael Ka Paeng Mariano, chairman of KMP and
concurrent president of ANAKPAWIS party list, just 9,500 landlords own and control almost
21% of all agricultural lands in the country. That is almost 3 million hectares for just 9,500
individuals, while more than 2 million farmers have to eke a living from less than 3 hectares per
family, because they are forced to divide just 18.5% of all agricultural lands, which is just about
2.5 million hectares, this data came from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics itself
The biggest landlord to date is also the antagonist of the Sumilao farmers, Eduardo
Danding Cojuangco, he owns 30,000 hectares of land in Negros, Isabela, Cagayan, Davao
del Sur, Coatabato, Palawan, etc. He also plans to take over around 13,085 hectares in Ilagan,
Isabelas Hacienda San Antonio and Hacienda Sta.Isabel, said Mariano.
The extent of the land problem in the country is very prevalent in some regions. In Southern
Tagalog, only 835 landlords control 70% of all agricultural lands. In Cebu, 155 landlords own all
the coconut plantations and corn fields. In Cagayan, 437 families control all the agricultural
lands. In Batangas, just 16 families own more than 26,000 hectares of sugarcane fields. In
Negros Oriental just 10 families control almost all the lands. In Mindanao, just a few transnational corporations control more than 207,000 hectares of banana, pineapple and palm oil
plantations. What is worse is that they are expanding, even if these foreign corporations do not
have any title of ownership. They are able to do this with schemes like growership, joint ventures
agreements, cooperatives, leasehold and lease back arrangements, added the peasant leader.
This is all happening under the Comprehensive Agrarian reform Program (CARP) and it will
only get worse with its extension. Even if the Sumilao farmers get the full 144 hectares they are
fighting for through a deal between the unholy alliance of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and
Danding Cojuangco, what about the majority of peasants who still do not own the land they till?
Should they all walk to Malacanang as well? Come to think of it we already did that and the
present regime then answered our call for genuine land reform with bullets in the Mendiola
Massacre, ended Mariano. # # #
http://www.pinoypress.net/2007/12/20/philippines-arroyo-using-sumilao-farmers-formedia-mileage/

Ex-DAR chief: Sumilao is one case Im

certain farmers are right
(I have neglected the Sumilao case due to other important issues. Im catching up)
By Jerome Aning
Inquirer
The call on the government to heed the Higaonon farmers who marched for two months to
dramatize their claim to a 144-hectare property in Sumilao, Bukidnon, is ringing louder, with
more Church leaders and a former agrarian reform secretary joining in.
The Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines cosponsored a Mass Saturday
afternoon at the farmers picket line at the Department of Agrarian Reform central office in
Quezon City, in an effort to continue demonstrating Church support.
Priests, nuns, seminarians and laymen joined the farmers at the Mass, which marked the feast of
the Immaculate Conception, one of Christendoms holiest days.
Florencio Butch Abad, who held the agrarian reform portfolio in 1990, visited the farmers
makeshift camp and told reporters that failure on the governments part to address the farmers
claim could add to political instability.
The Sumilao farmers have taken all the legal steps. Now they have launched a 1,700-kilometer
walk. What will happen if they dont get what they want? Its anybodys guess, he said.
Abad said the incumbent DAR chief, Nasser Pangandaman, does not really need more time to
study the Sumilao case.
In all the [land reform] cases that I have read, this is the only case where I am certain that the
farmers are right, he said, adding:
The DAR should always stand beside the farmers. In the case of Sumilao, the facts are very
clear. There was a violation of the conversion order. The farmers have the right to reclaim the
land under the CARP (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program).
Volatile situation
Even President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has expressed more concern about the Sumilao case
over other issues.
The President feels that this is a volatile situation, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said
Saturday on the phone.

He was referring to Ms Arroyos instruction for an immediate resolution to the land dispute,
which she relayed from Spain during a video conference on Friday with the Cabinet national
security cluster.
Gonzalez said the Left had been trying to get into the act.
Pinapasukan ng Kaliwa, he said.
Malacaang is leaving it to Pangandaman to rule on the land dispute.
But Pangandaman had said he would not be able to do so until after the farmers and the new
landowner, San Miguel Foods Inc. (SMFI), had submitted their respective position papers.
The contending parties have until Monday to comply.
Abad said all Pangandaman had to do was follow what Ernesto Garilao, who served as DAR
secretary in 1992-98, did affirm the right of the Sumilao farmers to the land and revoke the
conversion order issued in 1996 by Malacaang.
Why does he (Pangandaman) need more time to study the case when his predecessors were
clear that the farmers have the right to claim the land? All he has to do is reiterate Garilaos
decision, Abad said.
Land use conversion
In 1994, Garilao denied the petition for land use conversion of the then landowner, the
Quisumbing family, and awarded the 144 hectares to 137 farmers in April 1995.
The Quisumbings appealed the case in the Office of the President, and in March 1996 then
Executive Secretary Ruben Torres reversed Garilaos decision and approved the land-use
conversion from agricultural to agro-industrial.
In 1999, the Supreme Court upheld Torres decision, which led to the cancellation of the
certificates of land ownership award that the DAR had issued to the farmers.
The farmers embarked on their 1,700-km march to Metro Manila on Oct. 10. They reached their
destination early last week, and vowed not to leave the DAR until Pangandaman had issued a
cease-and-desist order against SMFIs construction and operation of a hog farm.
They contend that the land should again be covered by CARP because the Quisumbings did not
undertake any of the promised developments during the required five-year conversion period, but
instead sold the property in 2002 to SMFI, a subsidiary of San Miguel Corp.
They maintain that the conversion order should be revoked under DAR rules.

Pangandaman has allowed the farmers to put up makeshift huts in front of the DAR office and
given them access to water, electricity and toilet facilities.
In farmers favor
Abad said CARP was a reform measure, and that if there is any doubt about the law, the law
should always be interpreted in favor of the farmers.
He said SMFI had taken a big risk in acquiring the disputed property for the hog farm project of
its affiliate firm, Monterey Foods Inc.
They knew there were issues on the land. Now they have almost finished their hog farm. But
regardless of what they are doing on the property, they have to reckon with the issues and face
the consequences, he said.
Abad said Ms Arroyo could still make a decisive move to resolve the case in the farmers favor.
Even if Malacaang had remanded the case to the DAR, the President still has the power to
decide for the farmers because the DAR is her alter ego, he said.
Gonzalez said that during Fridays video conference, Ms Arroyo told Pangandaman to pursue
the earlier commitment of SMFI officials to resolve the problem with the farmers.
He said Ms Arroyo wanted immediate action because Church officials had also expressed
concern about the matter.
In her opening statement at the conference, Ms Arroyo underscored the need for the government
to look into the plight of the poor, including farmers seeking aid and justice.
Reflection and rest
According to Arlene Bag-ao of the legal support group Balaod Mindanao, the farmers will spend
Sunday in reflection and planning.
They will assess the results of their march, especially in Metro Manila, and at the same time
take a rest. This is so far the longest time they are stationary, she told the Inquirer.
Bag-ao, who accompanied the farmers on their 60-day march, said she and other lawyers were
busy drafting the position paper ordered by Pangandaman to be submitted tomorrow.
On Friday, the farmers marched from the DAR to Malacaang, intending to present to Executive
Secretary Eduardo Ermita a letter from Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales
expressing support for their plight.
But they were barred at the gates and no Palace official came out to meet them. With a report
from Christine O. Avendao

http://www.ellentordesillas.com/2007/12/09/ex-dar-chief-sumilao-is-one-case-imcertain-farmers-are-right/

What now Sumilao farmers?

By OFF TANGENTby Aven Piramide | Updated December 23, 2007 - 12:00am
Walter Lippman, in his book The Public Philosophy, gives us a helpful insight on the workings of
democracy. According to him, governments founded on democratic principles, like our system,
normally take quite a time before addressing a public concern. The lag is either positive or it
may bring forth negative result.
On one hand, the time that separates between the initial presentation of a public issue and that of
government response is long. It, thus, affords decision makers the luxury to scrutinize every
angle of a given situation and arrive at a studied plan of action. Haste, which in many cases only
results into wastes, is carefully minimized if not altogether avoided. On the other hand, there is a
drawback when the period with which government ponders on its move is too lengthy. It happens
that because government finally comes up with a measure after an extended period, the problem
has so assumed different proportions compared to its original state that the decision is no longer
appropriate.
This lesson is good for us at present. Unlike the off-tangent nature of this corner, the theory of
Lippman is helpful in looking at the response of the government of Her Excellency, President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to the problem posed by the reported displacement of the farmers of
Sumilao, Bukidnon.
I remember having written about these Sumilao farmers (and the suicide of the girl Marrianet, for
the poverty of her family), some two months ago. At that time, their planned walk (and I meant
baktas jud) from Mindanao to the seats of power in Manila, estimated to cover over one thousand
kilometers, just started. To these people, they had no other available course of action than such a
dramatic move to bring to Malacaang the harshness of the alleged eviction. As I wrote my
article, it was their claim that their farm lots had been taken away from them, and in
consequence, depriving them of farming, their only known livelihood.
I was hoping that early (or was it that late already?) government would not drag its feet. Fearing
that the swell of emotions rather than the weight of reason would eventually prevail, I thought
our responsible leaders had to address the issue decisively and more importantly, swiftly. It
would have been good that the marchers had not taken few kilometers more had they been gifted
with a government action.
But, the normal in our democratic space took place. It was normal for the government not to act
with dispatch. Indeed, only the other day, the president was reported to have issued an order
reclassifying the 44 hectare from agro-industrial to agricultural land. So for two months,
Malacaang kept the country guessing on its move. In the interregnum, the situation exacerbated.
The farmers march got worldwide attention, invited media glare, attracted many sectors to its

cause and with emotions whipped up, polarized diverging thoughts. Was the normal gestation
period positive?
When the president was buffeted by the tumultuous political waves generated by the inglorious
tapes called Hello, Garci, she took about two weeks, not two months to face the nation, with
drooping eye brows and bland make up, to say Im sorry. The military hierarchy, in a terse
warning reportedly issued at one oclock in the afternoon gave Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, until
three same day, just about two hours, not two months to end his alleged siege of the Manila
Peninsula.
Those two incidents gave an idea to the farmer-marchers of Sumilao, Bukidnon, that if it wanted
to, government could not take the normal democratic way of sitting idly by. It seemed to the
tribesmen that personal interests of our leaders parlayed a serious factor in policy formulation.
When, in past events, socio-political forces confronted the interests of powerful politicians,
government would proceed with a speedy resolution.
Prescinding from these thoughts, the Sumilao farmers expressed grave apprehensions. While
unsure that the promise of the president was founded upon good faith, they were willing to bet on
the positive aspect of Lippmans theory to extend time for government to back up its
commitment with concrete moves. But, they vowed to re-trace their march and hope to apply the
negative side of Lippmans proposition, if, after further waiting, they could not till their lands
again.
* * *
Email: avenpiramide@yahoo.com.ph
http://www.philstar.com/freeman-opinion/34906/what-now-sumilao-farmers

sumilao farmers : walking for 2 months for justice

Sumilao farmers: We smell DAR betrayal

By Jerome Aning
Inquirer
Last updated 03:21am (Mla time) 12/07/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- The Higaonon farmers who are asking the government to distribute the 144-hectare former Quisumbing
property in Sumilao, Bukidnon, expressed the fear Thursday that Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman would make
decisions that would grossly disappoint them.
We smell a betrayal, Napoleon Merida Jr., chair of the San Vicente Landless Farmers Association (SALFA) and leader of the
marchers, said in reaction to statements made by Pangandaman following his Tuesday visit to the property now owned by San
Miguel Foods Inc. (SMFI).
Merida said Pangandaman sounded more like a public relations man for SMFI than a Cabinet secretary, saying: We can see through
his words that he is more on the side of SMFI than of the farmers.
Earlier Thursday, the farmers and their supporters numbering around 100 marched in the rain and picketed the House of
Representatives in Quezon City to call the congressmens attention to their plight.
Apayao Rep. Elias Bulut Jr., chair of the House committee on agrarian reform, and some of its members met with the farmers and
representatives of peasant groups to learn how the agrarian reform law could be improved to prevent problems like that of the

Sumilao farmers.
Bulut said his panel was obliged to extend the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), due to expire next year. We hope
to address the loopholes in the law. That will be where we may institute reforms, he said.
The farmers, who walked all the way from Sumilao to Manila for two months to press their demands, later proceeded to the
Department of Agrarian Reform, vowing not to leave until Pangandaman decided on their case.
Pangandaman met with the farmers briefly Thursday night and told them that he was giving the two parties to the controversy three
days to submit their position papers before he makes his decision.
Cease-and-desist order
Marlon Manuel, a lawyer of the farmers, told reporters that Pangandaman seemed to be cooking up arguments to avoid issuing a
cease-and-desist order against SMFI, a subsidiary of the San Miguel conglomerate, and placing the property under the CARP.
He said the facts of the case remained plain and simple, since the land was awarded to the farmers through the issuance of
collective land ownership awards (CLOAs).
Norberto Quisumbing, who then owned the land, applied for conversion and proposed a five-year development plan.
Malacaang approved the conversion based on the proposed plan. The farmers protested it, but the Supreme Court upheld the
order, and the CLOAs of the farmers were cancelled.
The farmers said Quisumbing did not implement the development plan, thus violating the terms of the conversion order. The farmers
said the conversion period had lapsed but Quisumbing sold the land to SMFI.
The farmers said SMFI did not comply with the conversion plan either, so the land should be covered by CARP and redistributed to
the farmers.
Distorting facts
Manuel also accused Pangandaman of distorting the facts when he said that the conversion period started with the issuance by the
Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) of a development permit.
The HLURB permit was issued to SMFI for construction of the hog farm. It has nothing to do with the conversion. Why did
Quisumbing not apply for a development permit during the five years of conversion period? The answer should be obvious to
Pangandaman. Quisumbing performed a hoax. He did not intend to develop the land, Manuel said.
Manuel also belittled Pangandamans claim that the sale of the land was aboveboard and expressed doubt whether a sale really took
place between Quisumbing and SMFI.
Conversion order
We have not seen a copy of the deed of sale. We have been asking for a copy and theyre not providing it, Manuel said.
On Wednesday, Pangandaman said there were several unassailable facts that would guide him in deciding on the farmers demand
to issue a cease-and-desist order against the construction of a hog farm on the property by SMFI which bought the property from
Quisumbing in 2002.
He said that the conversion order issued by Malacaang in 1994 and upheld by the Supreme Court in 1999 still stands, and that the
CARP law did not state that a new owner of a disputed property was bound by the conversion pledges made by the previous owner.
Pangandaman also said that the five-year period in which the landowner should have implemented the development plan as
required by the conversion order started only in 2004 upon issuance of a development permit by the HLURB.
Pangandaman also noted that the sale of the property to SMFI appeared aboveboard.
SMFI development plan
In a statement Thursday, SMFI said that it was invited by the local government to invest in Sumilao, where the primary income was
growing corn which was subject to fluctuating prices.
SMFI said that to improve livelihood of both farmers and other residents it committed to build a multibillion-peso state-of-the-art
vertically integrated agro-industrial estate for Sumilao. It will be equipped with modern feedmills, poultry and piggery farms,
wastewater treatment facilities, a reservoir and provisions for forest development.
It said the blueprint was done in consultation with the farmers, who have since joined the protest movement.

P2.4-B investment
SMFI said that to date, 21 of 40 buildings that will make up the agro-industrial estate had been completed. Investment in Sumilao
will amount to an estimated P2.4 billion, which it said was far greater than any projected future value of the land. With a report from
Norman Bordadora

http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php?t=324958

Ditsi Carolinos Lupang Hinarang

Just saw Ditsi Carolinos latest documentary Lupang Hinarang (loosely translated as Obstructed
Land or Barred Soil, a play on the National Anthems title Lupang Hinirang or Chosen Land).
This is just an initial reaction, a few takes, as the film is yet to be released formally.
Before the screening, Ditsi made clear that it was a work in progress, but already the film looks
like it will become another Filipino documentary classic, as the rest of her previous works (Riles,
Bunso) are generally considered. I must reserve the right, though, to change my mind if the final
veers from what was shown in the jampacked Ateneo screening last night.
The structure is pretty much there and the point already too clear. The first part, on the Sumilao
farmers, feels more finished than the second part, on the Negros farmers, which clearly needed
more work thematically in terms of emotional arch, and technically in color grading and sound.
However, I must say that screening a work in progress, an oft-used term among filmmakers and
media people to stand for unfinished, has the danger of constricting the final output to stick to
what has already been seen by many. But it seems Ditsi has already made up her mind on what
the story is and how the docu is to be structured, meaning the final form wont be too far from
what has already been shown to many.
That said, it was very hard not to be emotionally affected with what she captured on cam.
In 2007, 55 farmers from Sumilao, Bukidnon in Mindanao walk 1700 kilometers to bring their
petition to Malacaan in Manila to revoke a DAR order converting 144 hectares of prime
agricultural land, previously awarded to them, into an agro-industrial estate, thereby excluding
the land from agrarian reform law. It takes the farmers 60 days to reach the Palace gates. Ditsi
accompanies them in the entire trek, essentially documenting the farmers long, sun-stroked (or
rain-drenched), mutilating march on foot. Five minutes into the film and I was already wiping
away a tear. So did my friend beside me.
In the second part, 22 farmers from Negros Occidental stage a hunger strike in front of the
headquarters of the Department of Agrarian Reform, denouncing the slow implementation of
their installment in the lands distributed to them 10 years before. It would take 29 days before the
Palace would give in.
Lupang Hinarang presents hope lots of it from the bravery of these folk to struggle for what
was rightfully theirs. It is a pointed documentary, an imbalanced tale, a singular message whose
agenda is on the side of the disenfranchised. This is the films strength.

There are 1.3 million hectares of land still to be distributed to those who can till them, but, as of
today, only 4 session days are left for Congress to pass the law that would make that distribution
happen.
That part of the story is crystal clear.
http://rvives.wordpress.com/tag/sumilao-farmers/

Sumilao Farmers Win; but the Struggle continues

Posted on Disyembre 19, 2007 by S3lv0

Arroyo revokes land-use conversion of Sumilao estate

By Jerome Aning, Christine Avendao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Last updated 01:38am (Mla time) 12/19/2007
MANILA, Philippines A day after twice meeting with the Sumilao farmers, President
Macapagal-Arroyo took what her officials described as the first step toward the return of the
land they are claiming.
The President, through Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, authorized the issuance of an order
revoking the land-use conversion of the disputed 144-hectare property in Sumilao, Bukidnon.
What was reclassified as agro-industrial landand now being developed by San Miguel Foods
Inc. (SMFI)has been reverted to agricultural land covered by the governments Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), according to Ms Arroyos spokesperson, Press Secretary
Ignacio Bunye.
But Marlon Manuel, the farmers chief lawyer, said the order had no clear directive on what the
Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) should do next.
It will be the start of another long battle to return the land to the farmers, Manuel said.
Along with Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo, Bunye delivered the news and a copy of the
executive order to the farmers, who had stayed overnight at the College of the Holy Spirit just
outside Malacaang to await Ms Arroyos decision.
I believe this revocation order is a significant first step and gives teeth to the intention of the
President to really help the farmers, Bunye told reporters after the dialogue with the farmers that
lasted nearly two hours.
Grateful but wary

But Bunye and Saludo were peppered with questions by the farmers, some of whom said they
would not return to Bukidnon until the property was actually transferred to them.
We want assurance from the government that the land will truly be ours. Although were
grateful, were also wary of the decision because in the past, many decisions favorable to us were
reversed, Napoleon Merida Jr., chair of the San Vicente Landless Farmers Association, told
reporters.
His uncle, Samuel Merida, said that when he and the other farmers left Sumilao in October to
march all the way to Manila, we vowed that when we return, it would be to land that is
rightfully ours.
It would be a great Christmas gift for us and our families if our case is acted on quickly by the
government. We could begin planting immediately for the livelihood of our families and the
colleagues we left behind, Samuel Merida told the Inquirer.
Lawyer Manuel said the farmers were adamant that the construction of the SMFI hog farm on the
disputed property be stopped at once.
Theyre a bit sad because many points in the order were not clear. They have reservations, said
Manuel, a member of the Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal.
Weight for the petition
Manuel said the farmers were also dissatisfied because SMFI could still contest the order all the
way to the Supreme Court, thus prolonging the dispute.
At the dialogue, Bunye reminded the farmers that they went to the Palace on Monday to seek the
revocation of the conversion order, and that Ms Arroyo granted their request after considering the
DAR findings and recommendations.
He said the construction of a hog farm on the property was the main reason the land-use
conversion order was revoked.
Asked at one point by Napoleon Merida whether the revocation order meant that SMFI
operations on the property would be stopped, Bunye said the order would be the legal basis for
the DAR to give in to the other things that you are asking for.
In other words, he said, it is your lawyer who will submit the petition to the DAR, and this
order would give weight to your petition.
The farmers asked Bunye whether a cease-and-desist order to SMFI from the DAR was
forthcoming, and why it was not included in Ms Arroyos executive order. They told him that
they went to Malacaang to also seek a cease-and-desist order.

Bunye said he had no ready answer. But he added that he and the farmers lawyer both
understood that the issuance of a cease-and-desist order could be the second step.
Asked whether Ms Arroyo would give Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman a
deadline to act on the requested order, Bunye said her message should be very clear to
Pangandaman, who was present at her two meetings with the farmersthat the case was a top
priority of the President.
The farmers also told Bunye of their fear that the process would take time, as shown, they said,
by their past experience with Pangandaman.
No tears of joy
Bunye said he could only speak for Ms Arroyo: The action of the President speaks louder. The
fact that the President met with the farmers, with the clergy She really spent time [on the case]
and followed it up until this morning with Executive Secretary Ermita So the Presidents
interest is there.
Ermita signed the order at 12:10 p.m. by authority of the President.
Josel Gonzales, the farmers media coordinator, said their reaction was subdued when they first
heard news of the cancellation of the land-use conversion order via text message at past noon.
They welcomed the decision and are thankful because this is a big step for them to realize their
goals, but there was no jumping, hugs and tears of joy. They said theyve been traumatized
because they still remember victories in the past that were later taken away, he said.
Gonzales was referring to the certificates of land ownership award distributed to the farmers in
1994, which were revoked two years later when Malacaang, through then Executive Secretary
Ruben Torres, approved the conversion of the property into an agro-industrial park.
In a statement, the Sumilao farmers described Ms Arroyos executive order as a big milestone in
our quest to reclaim our land.
But the farmers said they remained disturbed.
While we rejoice at this victory, we are aware that this revocation is but a partial redress of the
grave injustice that was committed against us that led to the dispossession of our land 10 years
ago. This redress is already long overdue, they said.
The farmers reiterated that they would not return to Bukidnon despite Ms Arroyos order:
We will make our presence felt at the [DAR] and we will not leave until we are finally installed
in our land. We reiterate our solemn vow that the first ground that we will step on in Bukidnon
will be the land that we will call our own. We shall continue to walk until the day when we will
walk freely on the land that we own.

The farmers expressed heartfelt gratitude to the civil society organizations, parishes, religious
groups, schools and the Catholic Church that took our cause as their own.
Thats the procedure
In Malacaang, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol told reporters that the land
would eventually be handed to the old tenants, the Sumilao farmers, and SMFI would be paid
accordingly.
Thats the procedure. The one who will pay immediately will be Land Bank [of the
Philippines], Apostol said.
Asked if this was a Christmas gift to the farmers, Bunye said: All the actions of the President
are being done as a matter of justice.
The farmers said they would return this morning to their encampment in front of the DAR central
office in Quezon City.
Samuel Meridathe president of the Mapadayonong Panaghiusa sa mga Lumad Alang sa
Damlag, which organized the farmers in Sumilao and set up a cooperative to give them
livelihood assistancesaid he and his colleagues continue to believe in due process and in the
CARP process.
He added: We want to be prioritized because it has been a long wait for us. We want the process
of implementation [of the Presidents order] sped up.
Napoleon Merida said they would seek an audience with Pangandaman to ask him to
immediately issue the revocation of the land-use conversion order and notice of CARP coverage.
He said the farmers were wary of Pangandaman because the latter had earlier recognized SMFIs
ownership of the property and did not halt its development projects on the disputed land.
Land is life
Samuel Merida dismissed comments that the farmers might not be able to administer the land if
it were returned to them.
Comments that we will not be able to till our land are unfair and belittle the farmers abilities. A
farmer will do all he can so that his land will be productive. Land is the farmers life, he said.
With a report from Michael Lim Ubac
**********************************
Salamat kay Taroogs for updating others on the Sumilao farmers

The Sumilao farmers have achieved their first goal in their campaign. The struggle goes on. The
road to reclaiming their land remain long and treacherous. I am very proud playing a small part
in this unparalleled campaign.
This might be my last post before Christmas. I will be flying to Cagayan de Oro at lunchtime
tomorrow. Merry Christmas to all my blog friends. Thank you for all the support you have lent.
-josel
http://selvo.wordpress.com/2007/12/19/sumilao-farmers-win-but-the-strugglecontinues/

No land titles yet for Sumilao farmers

Thursday, April 1, 2010

TWO years after San Miguel Corporation (SMC) awarded 50 out of the 144 hectares to the
Sumilao farmers, land titles are yet to be received by the farmers.
Peter Tuminhay, spokesperson of the Sumilao farmers, said representatives of SMC and the
Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) just kept on promising to give the land titles to them.
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We have met with the representatives of SMC and DAR and they have promised the land titles
every time we met. Deadline after deadline came and went but the promised land titles failed to
materialize. Even the title of the 50 hectares we are now tilling remains an unfulfilled promise,
Tuminhay said.
He added that the lands offered to them by SMC have various problems since some of the lands
are still leased to Del Monte while some had titles that were not surrendered by the landowners.
On March 29, 2007, the Sumilao farmers signed an agreement with SMC represented by its
president Ramon Ang in the presence of Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales.
In the agreement, SMC ceded 50 of the 144 hectares being claimed by the Sumilao farmers and
committed to acquire 94 hectares of land outside the disputed property for distribution to the
farmers under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp).
The agreement marked the end of the farmers campaign which started with their historic 1,700kilometer march from Sumilao in Bukidnon to Malacaang in Manila.

The march prompted President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to revoke the conversion order
covering the contested property in December 2007 and ordered the distribution of the property
under Carp forcing SMC to the negotiating table with the farmers.
After the signing of the agreement, the Sumilao farmers returned home, occupied and began to
cultivate the 50 hectares covered by the agreement.
However, after two years, the Sumilao farmers are yet to receive the land titles of the 50 hectares
within the contested property and the 94 hectares outside the 144-hectare disputed land.
Tuminhay said last February, SMC legal counsel lawyer Fred Peaflor committed to distribute
the titles for the 50 hectares they are now tilling and the 94 hectares outside the 144-hectare
property on the second anniversary of the agreements signing.
After waiting for two years and listening to promises several times, this will be the last
deadline. Should they fail to distribute the titles today, as they have promised, we take it that
SMC is not serious about fulfilling its commitments to us. It is almost a year since our leader,
Rene Peas, was gunned down here in this land. We can no longer wait for more promises. We
will to return to our original claim. Should they again break their promise today, we shall begin
to occupy and cultivate portions of the original 144 hectare land, said Yoyong Merida, another
spokesperson of the Sumilao farmers.
With this, Merida called on those who have supported their struggle to once again join them in
their cause.
We will not stop until we cultivate the land that belongs to us, Merida added.
During Mondays second anniversary of the signing of the agreement, Malaybalay Archbishop
Honesto Pacana celebrated a Mass with the farmers at their camp outside the gates of SMC in
San Vicente, Sumilao, Bukidnon.
Pacana has joined the farmers in demanding the distribution of the Sumilao property. (PR)
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/no-land-titles-yet-sumilao-farmers

Malacaang bars media from Arroyo-Sumilao farmers meet

(Updated 9:50 a.m.) Malacaang on Monday announced that media would not be allowed to
witness the meeting between Sumilao farmers and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
According to a report by radio dzBB, the meeting has been pushed back from the earlier
announced time of 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The report quoted Presidential Management Staff head Cerge Remonde who also said media will
not likely be allowed to cover the talks, where the farmers are to bring to President Arroyos
attention their plight over a 144-hectare property in Sumilao town.
http://manilajournal.com/2007/12/17/malacanang-bars-media-from-arroyo-sumilaofarmers-meet/

Sumilao farmers receive indemnity from DAR-PCIC program

May 16, 2014

MALAYBALAY CITY, Bukidnon, May 16 -- Twenty-seven Sumilao farmers recently received

their indemnity claims from the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) to cover for the
crop losses they incurred when tropical depression Agaton struck Mindanao last year.
Julio Celestiano Jr. Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer II of Bukidnon said the checks
amounting to P252,394.77 were distributed to the 27 beneficiaries who are members of the
PANAW Multipurpose Cooperative from Sumilao, Bukidnon.

Celestiano said these farmers planted corn during the last cropping season in 2013 when tropical
depression Agaton struck Mindanao January of that year and destroyed their crops.

Fortunately, a tie up between the DAR and the PCIC was forged earlier through the Agrarian
Reform Beneficiary Agricultural Insurance Program (ARB AIP) allowing the farmers to collect
payments in case of losses and damages to their crops and farm animals caused by natural
calamities or fortuitous events.

Celestiano said that agrarian reform beneficiaries nationwide were encouraged to enroll in the
program, which is fully subsidized by DAR.

Restituto Anlicao, a farmer claimant after receiving his check amounting to P28,956.24 said, I
thought I could never get anything after the storm damaged our 3- hectare corn farm. But thank
God, our government is sincere to help farmers like us. (DAR)
http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/2131400212487/sumilao-farmers-receiveindemnity-from-dar-pcic-program

Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan Reiterates Support for the

Sumilao Farmers
by December 18, 2007
We, the Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan, reiterate our all-out support for the farmers of Sumilao,
Bukidnon and detest the current media campaign to discredit, misrepresent and damage the
publics perception of this group that is on its last leg of their march from Bukidnon to Manila.
In recent days, newspaper columnists from at least three different dailies have published false
information which has compromised the case of the Sumilao farmers and has tarnished the
publics perception of their cause.
Unlike the information released by those in support of the Sumilao farmers (most of which come
from DAR or Supreme Court public documents and the detailed documentation of the groups
that have been assisting these farmers for over a decade now), the recent information being
circulated has no clear source. Certain erroneous data which could easily have been invalidated
(if counter checks were made with various available sources) have also been consistently
reported by the columnists. This brings into question the source and motives of the people behind
the release of such information.
We furthermore wish to point out that these columnists, aside from being consistent in the errors
of information, also consistently left out the fact that the San Miguel Foods Incorporated now has
a large stake in the decision of this case.
That the farmers have had to suffer their plight and now are taking much pain and sacrifice in
order to be heard is already in itself detestable. But for them to be further subjected to such
injustice and lies, whereby their very integrity and credibility is attacked, and whereby the weak
are further exploited and oppressed such a situation is scandalously malevolent.
As such, we reiterate and resolve to further strengthen our own campaign in support of the
farmers, and call on all the faithful, all men and women of goodwill to do the same. As part of
our efforts to combat this further injustice that has added much insult to already deep injury, a
point by point clarification vis--vis the false information being circulated has been published in
the following websites: www.slb.ph, www.jesuits.ph, www.sumilaomarch.multiply.com and
www.simbahanglingkod.multiply.com.
As the Sumilao farmers march on in their pursuit of justice, so shall we in support of their cause.
Manalangin. Manindigan. Makialam.
Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan
November 29, 2007

http://www.tinig.com/simbahang-lingkod-ng-bayan-reiterates-support-for-thesumilao-farmers/

Sumilao farmers now on their feet

October 18, 2011 durianburgdavao

BY ROGER M. BALANZA

BUKIDNON Sumilao farmers, who gained fame in 1997 in their

bid to own a 147-hectare estate in a 69-day walk from
Bukidnon to Manila to bring their plight to the
government
are
now
a
happy
lot.
The farmers had waged a protracted battle in asking
government to place the land under the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) the estate owned by
San
Miguel
Corporation.
The Sumilao farmers began fighting for the land in 1990.
In 1995, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)
awarded the estate to the farmers. DAR, however,
revoked the award two years later after Malacaang
ordered the lands conversion into an agro-industrial
area.
The farmers gained prominence in 2007, when 55 55 of
them made the historic 1,700 kilometer march from
Bukidnon to Manila to ask the government for the title to
the
estate.
The land was finally awarded to the farmer tenants early
last year. The l63 farmers of the Panaw Sumilao MultiPurpose Cooperative are now paying amortization for the
landP20
million
spread
in
30
years,
Twenty years after they started the battle to own the
land, and two years after they gained the title, the
Sumilao farmers have transformed the estate into an
earning
venture
through
communal
farming.
Yoyong Merida, coop president, said 97 hectares of the
estate have been developed into a communal farm, and
five hectares for socialized housing through Gawad
Kalinga. The coop is managing 50 hectares for an organic
farm.
The farmers now own a warehouse, corn sheller and solar
and
mechanical
drier.
We want to be a role model for farmers, said Merida, who
adds the farmers hope to earn more with high-value crop
cultivation.

A non-government organization, Human Nature, is also

helping women in livelihood projects such as handicraft
making and herbal products.
http://durianburgdavao.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/sumilao-farmers-now-on-theirfeet/

Sumilao Farmers 'Walk for Justice'

Norberto Quisumbing, owner of Norkis had the Mapalad farmers land registered under a
new title and sold it to San Miguel Foods Inc. in February 2002.
To expose this injustice committed by the Quisumbings, 54 farmers from Sumilao, walking
for 60 days, from Bukidnon to Manila, on October 10 to December 10, covering 1,700
kilometers, to ask Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to distribute their ancestral lands to them
under the agrarian reform program...
They have braved fatigue, heat, storm. They have endured being away from home, being in
uncertain places, with uncertain outcomes. Most of all, they have suffered the callousness of
people who took away their land and refuse to give them what is rightfully theirs. They
have nothing but the solidarity and goodness of people, and the hope that, in the end, truth
and social justice will prevail.
Please read their story below and let us support them in their struggle!
--------------Sumilao farmers now on Manila leg of 'Walk for Justice'
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=101177
By KATHERINE ADRANEDA
The Philippine Star
Farmers from Sumilao, Bukidnon are now on the Manila leg of their 60day, 1,700-kilometer "Walk for Justice" and may reach the metropolis
earlier than scheduled.
As of Sunday afternoon, the farmers were in San Pedro, Laguna. They
will begin their journey to Manila this morning, passing through the
Alabang-Paraaque-Coastal Road, on to the Senate and then Ayala Avenue
in Makati City.
The Higaonon farmers from Sumilao town, as earlier planned, are to
arrive in Manila on Dec. 10 in time for the commemoration of
International Human Rights Day.
In Manila, the farmers plan to go to the Department of Agrarian
Reform's central office in Quezon City and Malacaang where they hope
to have a dialogue with President Arroyo.

But as the farmers continued their protest-march, even defying the

scorching heat of the sun and threats posed by typhoons just to
dramatize their 10-year-old demand for the government to give them
back the land they claim as theirs, they scored a "victory" through a
resolution issued by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita remanding the
case to the DAR.
Now, the farmers are pinning their hopes on Agrarian Reform Secretary
Nasser Pangandaman.
According to the Socrates Banzuela, coordinator of the Lakaw Sumilao
network, the farmers are hoping that Pangandaman would finally heed
their demand for him to issue a cease-and-desist order against what
they claimed to be the "illegal conversion" of the contested 144hectare property in Sumilao, Bukidnon, especially in the wake of
Ermita's resolution.
"The secretary said he will review the Sumilao case and visit the
contested area soon. We expect him to make a decision before the
marchers arrive in Manila since he has an express order from
Malacaang to do so," said Banzuela, referring to the results of
Thursday's dialogue between the farmers and Pangandaman.
The DAR chief reportedly said during the dialogue that the issuance of
a cease-and-desist order at this point is a great possibility.
The farmers want the DAR to stop the development of a hog farm on the
disputed agricultural land in San Vicente, Sumilao town that was
formerly owned by Norberto Quisumbing.
At least 165 farmers are petitioning for the redistribution of the
property under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
The property was approved for conversion to agro-industrial use in
1996 through an order issued by then Executive Secretary Ruben Torres.
The Supreme Court upheld Torres' decision in 1999, resulting in the
cancellation of the certificate of land ownership award (CLOA) of the
165 farmer-beneficiaries belonging to the group called Mapalad.
The DAR gave the collective CLOA to the farmer-beneficiaries in 1995.
However, the farmers said the landowner did not comply with the terms
of the conversion order, which included implementing a five-year agroindustrial development plan.

Instead, Quisumbing had the land registered under a new title and sold
it to San Miguel Foods Inc. in February 2002.
The farmers filed a petition before the DAR in 2004 for cancellation
of the conversion order on account of the landowner's violation, but
Pangan-daman in 2006 denied the petition, saying he lacked
jurisdiction and that "the power is lodged with the office (which)
issued the (conversion) order."
The farmers appealed to the Office of the President, which initially
upheld Pangandaman's decision, saying the farmer-petitioners lacked
legal standing.
But the farmers filed a motion for reconsideration with the Office of
the President, which last Nov. 16, through a resolution signed by
Ermita, remanded the Sumilao case to the DAR.
The resolution said the DAR is in "a better position to assess and
evaluate the credibility of the contending parties and the validity of
their respective evidence."
Posted by Alvin M. Dizon at 4:10 PM
http://alvindizon.blogspot.com/2007/12/sumilao-farmers-now-on-manila-leg-of.html

METRO MANILA AND BEYOND IN ONE RURAL-URBAN LIFE SPACE

by Gelia T. Castillo, Ph. D.
TOFIL Awardee for Science and Technology, 2004
Publication date Apr 14, 2008

Nowadays, ang taga-Bukid at ang taga-Maynila are no longer separate worlds immune from
each other. The following are identifiable trends in rural urban development which are inevitably
bringing
together
these
two
sectors
in
one
common
life-space:
1. With rapid urbanization, the protagonists in the social conflicts over access to land and its
use has shifted from landlords vs. tenant to farmers vs. real estate developers; agro
industrial and mining companies; etc. An example of this is San Miguel Corp. vs.
Sumilao farmers.
2. The phenomenon of informal settlers is not a monopoly of urbanites, for residential
landlessness is also very much a rural problem. After all, land is inequitably distributed
everywhere. But most of all, poverty in the Philippines is still largely of a rural and
agricultural character.

3. Indigenous peoples have become more important to the nation and not only because of
indigenous knowledge but because of valuable natural resources imbedded in ancestral
domains.
4. The state of our rural-based natural resources has depreciated to disturbingly low levels
not necessarily for the benefit of rural peoples. Therefore, in assessing progress in rural
development, indicators of this condition areas important as income, health, education,
etc.
5. The structure of rural household income has shifted from mainly agriculture to multiple
livelihood sources including urban, non-farm occupations and remittances from abroad.
Non-farm work has become more important particularly for the young and better
educated. As a consequence, farming will increasingly be left in the hands of older
persons who would be less educated at a time when farming will be more knowledgeintensive.
6. With multiple sources of livelihood, households dependent only on rice, corn, coconut are
rare, if not non-existent. Therefore, development programs intended for farmers should
ask: Who is the Filipino farmer? Quite often, those people projected by media are
landless farm workers who have no access to land and depend only on hired labor. They
are at the bottom of the totem pole.
7. Institutional arrangements for use of land and labor in agriculture are changing more
toward hired and contractual agreements although share-tenancy continues, but in
different guises. Bayanihan in farming has gone out of style except in very remote areas.
Even small rice farmers use mostly hired labor.
8. Because rice is such an indispensable part of our everyday life, whatever happens to it,
happens to our lives. While total rice production increased almost three-fold over a 36yearperiod, population increased 2.35 times over the same period. With an increase also
in per capita rice consumption and about 20 typhoons a year, the goal of rice selfsufficiency is a moving target and we will keep running just to stay in place. In the
meantime, marginal rice farmers and landless workers buy rice and even those who have
surplus allocate at least 20 percent of harvest for their own consumption indicating their
strong household-food security orientation.
9. Rural development is now more and more focused on local development with local
government units taking the lead. Civil society organizations working with communitybased approaches are playing the empowering role. The voice from the countryside is
no longer mute although wittingly or unwittingly, local government executives are
emerging as the new patrons replacing landlords in favor dispensing patron-client
relationships.
10. Despite urbanization, agriculture remains the major rural employer. Predictably, the rural
young who get educated will move to the city or be part of the abroad syndrome in their
search for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
http://www.tofil.ph/greatleaders.php?id=13

What does it take to get justice in the

Philippines?
What does it take to get justice in the Philippines?:
The Struggle for Land, Life, and Rights of Filipino Farmers
By: Sumilao Solidarity Group*
TEN YEARS AGO, on October 9, 1997, the Mapadayunong Panaghiusa sa mga Lumad Alang
sa Damlag Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MAPALAD-MPC), a group of farmers composed of 137
families staged a 28-day lugol, an indigenous form of hunger strike to express their demand to
redistribute the 144 hectares of land traditionally part of the seat of government of their
ancestors. The historic hunger strike gathered critical public and media support that pressured
former President Fidel Ramos to declare a win-win' solution giving the farmers 100 hectares,
and the remaining 44 to the former landowners, Norberto Quisumbing Sr. Management and
Development Corporation (NQSRMDC). However, their victory was short-lived when the
Philippine Supreme Court on appeal by the NQSRMDC, reversed the Presidential ruling and
approved the land use conversion application from agricultural to agro-industrial use.
Under the guise of community welfare and development and with the support of the local
government, NQSRMDC presented its conversion plan that promised to bring in investors and
potential revenues through the construction of hotels, commercial centers, recreational parks,
processing plants, etc.

TEN YEARS AFTER THE DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT, the disputed land
remains idle. None of the projects upon which the conversion was conditioned were
implemented. Then in 2002, the Quisumbings illegally sold the 144-hectare land to the San
Miguel Foods, Inc. (SMFI). SMFI plans to put up a 144-hectare piggery farm in violation of the
conditions of the approved conversion order.

In 2004, the Sumilao farmers filed a Petition for the Cancellation of the Conversion Order
against Quisumbing and/or SMFI before the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) on the basis
that more than 5 years have passed since the Conversion Order and yet the Quisumbings have
failed to initiate any development work on the land. Further, the SMFI grossly violated the
conditions of the Conversion Order by completely changing its use to hog farm. Both actions are,
in fact, in violation of DAR Administrative Orders 1 and 2, Series of 1990 and other pertinent
laws on land conversion.

However, the DAR ruled, albeit mistakenly, that it has no jurisdiction over the case as the same
belongs to the Office of the President (OP). The Sumilao Farmers appealed to the OP where the
case is currently pending.

AND NOW, the Sumilao farmers, again risking their lives, health, and safety, are currently
marching from Sumilao, Bukidnon to Malacanang in the hope of generating public awareness
and support for their plight.

Their demands are: the immediate revocation by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the
conversion order for the said 144-hectare estate; immediate issuance by the DAR of the "notice
of coverage" and redistribution of the said property; and the enactment of a law extending and
reforming the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

In doing so, the people are given a sliver of hope in the governance and justice system of this
country.

By not doing so, the notion that the law is only for the rich and powerful is further reinforced.

If a convicted plunderer like former President Joseph Estrada could be "pardoned" for his crimes
by Arroyo, shouldn't the Sumilao farmers be entitled to more "justice" as they have not violated
any law but are merely trying to claim the right given to them by the law itself.

If staging a hunger strike and walking all the way from Mindanao to Manila will not be enough
to get justice from this government, what else then can the people do?

xxx

* Composed of Akbayan! Citizens' Party List, AR! Now, AFA, AsiaDHRRA, Balaod Mindnaw,
KAISAHAN, CARET, Focus on the Global South-Philippines, NCICSI, PAKISAMA,
SALIGAN, etc.

For more information about the campaign, pls. visit http://sumilaomarch.multiply.com/.

To sign the online petition, please visit

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/sumilaofarmers/index.html.

To send your solidarity messages to the Sumilao farmers, pls. email arnow.inc@gmail.com.
http://focusweb.org/node/1281

Coconut farmers in Davao begin 71-day march to

Malacaan Palace
By Coconuts Manila September 23, 2014 / 15:56 PHT

Now, this is the real definition of fierce.

"In Davao City last Sunday, Sep 21, 71 coconut farmers representing 10 farmers federations
began their 71-day march toward Malacaan Palace to press President Noynoy Aquino to certify
as urgent a bill that would use the recovered coco levy funds to revitalize the coconut industry
and benefit the marginalized coco farmers," reports Alexander D. Lopez in Manila Bulletin.
The report noted: "The 'March for Historic Justice' that will cover 1,750 kilometers was inspired
by the success of the Sumilao farmers who marched for two months from Sumilao, Bukidnon to
Malacaan in 2007 to convince then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to revoke a Department
of Agrarian Reform order converting their 144-hectare farm land into a hog farm."
The report pointed out that the Sumilao farmers' "dramatic ordeal" left Arroyo "no choice but
order the revocation of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) order and return the land,
which would have been controlled by San Miguel Foods, Inc., to the farmers
http://manila.coconuts.co/2014/09/23/coconut-farmers-davao-begin-71-day-marchmalacanan-palace

DAR's gift to the Sumilao farmers on Human Rights Day (2)

The Department of Agrarian Reform celebrated Human Rights Day by betraying the human
rights of the very farmers whose existence is its very reason for being. As the farmers prepared to
go up to the offices of the DAR secretary, they were barred from entering the compound by
about eight security guards, on orders of the secretary himself. . Minutes later police from Camp
Karingal arrived to keep the peace, very likely the peace of mind of San Miguel Foods Danding
Cojuangco and Ramon Ang, whose well-paid lawyers pleaded ignorance about the laws of the
land they have so obviously violated. Where were the born-again stars in national politics? How
do I know all these? Simple, I was with the farmers from two in the afternoon up to almost eight
in the evening. And why did I feel obliged to lend my support in body and not just mind? Never
mind, but you can read the previous entry in this blog. I will not go into the chronology on the
issue. If you are concerned, theres enough material on the web. Among those are the essays of
Winnie Monsod, who discussed the latest findings of Arsenio Balisacan, my professor almost 20
years ago in agricultural economics; and Joaquin Bernas, as my atheism does not bar me from
admiring Jesuit scholarship. Here, I would rather discuss what has not been reported in the
mainstream media, including the Philippine Daily Inquirer and ABS-CBN. Earlier in the
afternoon, the farmers and their leaders inside their talipapa camp just outside the gates of the
DAR discussed the position paper the DAR secretary had asked them to submit by the end of
Monday. They felt they really didnt have to anymore as their positions and petitions were
already known not only to the guards of DAR but also to the lizard population on the ceiling of
Nasser Pangandamans well-appointed office. (Much as I would like to sympathize with
Pangandaman who has been busy counting the white hair in his nose and daydreaming about
Christmas lechon, he makes me want to go vegetarian). But they did, like lowly farmers who
obey the laws of the land. Or wanted to. The rule of law? Whose law and whose rules? At around
five, the guards suddenly padlocked and chained the gates. Then a receiving clerk appeared and
said she was authorized to accept the position paper. Why dont you relocate your office to the
gates then? the farmers asked. The clerk said those were her orders. Has San Miguel submitted
its position paper? lawyer Marlon Manuel asked the clerk. She didnt know or would not say.
Where is the secretary? A few minutes later a young man who claimed he was from the
secretariat explained to Kaka, a coordinator for the farmers, We dont want any trouble. And
neither do we, Kaka said. Who gave the order to lock the gates? I asked the guards. We dont
know, they replied. After more than an hour, the farmers decided to cool off and celebrate mass
with priests and nuns from Mindanao. At the risk of being excommunicated from my own
congregation, I stayed. When I left before eight, it wasnt clear whether the Sumilao farmers
would be home for Christmas. Notes: I was impressed by niece Charo Logarta who interviewed
the leaders of the farmers in fluent Cebuano. Because I know my cousin (her dad) had left Cebu
as a child, I assumed the daughter would know only English and Tagalog. I was wrong. Noel
Cabangon came to sing a few songs in solidarity and I could not hold back tears. Someone let out
air from the left rear tire of my car, but a farmer who also drives a jeepney in Bukidnon took care
of it. There are Cebuano words which cant be expressed in Tagalog or English: Pastilan! Intaon!
Lechong baboy! Lecheng yawa! And that was exactly how I felt). It may very well be that the
San Miguel plan would be better for the economy overall, but this a question of social justice and
law and not of gross domestic product. Its not jiust the economy stupid! Its human rights and
justice. If our national life were to be dominated by just economic efficiency, we would reopen

the debate about democracy,dictatorship and development. Nyet! But more on this in the next
post.