Daily TribuneSumague said all CLOA holders may be relocated to a bare, mountainous area, without electricity and potable water
AGRARIAN reform beneficiaries in Nasugbu, Batangas map out on Friday their next moves amid threats to relocate them from three haciendas reportedly being taken back by the Roxas family.
PHOTOGRAPH BY KING RODRIGUEZ FOR THE DAILY TRIBUNE
About 50,000 residents, some are agrarian reform beneficiaries, or ARBs, in various barangays in Nasugbu, Batangas warned over the weekend that they face eviction from the lands they are tilling despite having Certificates of Land Ownership Award.
In an interview with DAILY TRIBUNE, the CLOA holders rallied against a Consolidated Order of the Department of Agrarian Reform “leaning” towards alleged efforts by publicly listed company Roxas & Company Inc. to take back its three haciendas already distributed to farmers.
With no less than the DAR “moving against” them instead of reinforcing their stake in the land as ARBs, the farmers have called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to intervene on their behalf as a proponent of increasing agricultural production.
The Consolidated Order signed by DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III on 29 December 2023, a copy of which was secured by the paper, said it wanted to consolidate and write “finis” or an “end” to issues that have hounded Hacienda Palico, Hacienda Banilad, and Hacienda Caylaway, all located in the Municipality of Nasugbu.
Hacienda Palico covers 1,024 hectares, Hacienda Banilad 1,050 hectares, and Hacienda Caylaway 867.4 hectares. Caylaway is the most populated with five barangays, namely, Bilaran, Cogunan, Catandaan, Keparo, and Aga.
The haciendas are said to be owned by the Roxas family before they were distributed to the ARBs. Efforts are now being exerted by Roxas & Company, Inc., led by its chairman Pedro Roxas, to retake the haciendas, the ARBs said.
The mayor of Nasugbu, Antonio Jose Barcelon, sources alleged, has already acceded to the will of the company to retake the lands of his constituents.
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In an interview, Barangay Aga chairman Jeoprey Bautista Sumague said that in his barangay alone, roughly 8,000 individuals will be displaced if the order of the DAR becomes final and executory.
“We have 1,947 households and 2,285 families that are in danger of being evicted. That is why we are appealing to President Marcos Jr. to intervene in the situation,” Sumague added.
Sumague said all CLOA holders, upon their eviction from the three haciendas, may be relocated to a parcel of land in Barangay Palico, a bare, mountainous area, without electricity and potable water.
CLOA holders do not know whether they would be paid for the land that would be taken away from them, or whether they would receive support to ease their relocation, he added.
CLOAs are titles given to beneficiaries of the government’s Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program or its expanded, amended version.
Sumague said they are wondering why Secretary Estrella decided to side with the petition of the Roxas family when the CLOAs have already met the 10-year maturity condition under the land reform program.
The head of Barangay Aga’s Agrarian Reform Council, Gilbert del Mundo said their eviction would transform their communities into “ghost towns.”
Roxas & Company Inc., in a regulatory filing at the Philippine Stock Exchange last 1 February 2024, said that they have already regained ownership of their 1,619.23-hectare property inside the haciendas Palico, Banilad and Caylaway.
It said that the 15-day mandatory period for the filing of a motion for reconsideration against the DAR Consolidated Order has already lapsed.
(To be continued)
