Settling land dispute turns deadly

A land dispute is supposed to be about who owns a piece of ground. In Glamang River in Barangay Datal Anggas, Alabel, Sarangani, two farmers reportedly entered the water to settle one. Neither came back alive.

Tonny Bulanon Mansag, 69, and Gaspar Tusan Palasanon, 49, both residents of the barangay, died on Friday, 16 October, after taking part in a traditional ritual known as “Sulif,” reportedly intended to resolve a disagreement over a parcel of land.

According to preliminary information from the Alabel Municipal Police Station, the two men entered the river at around 10 a.m. and remained submerged for about 12 minutes. They failed to resurface.

They were pulled from the water and rushed to medical facilities. Mansag was declared dead on arrival at Sarangani Provincial Hospital. Palasanon was brought to a hospital in General Santos City, where he later died.

Initial reports indicated that the ritual took place after the parties failed to settle their land dispute through other means. The precise circumstances of the deaths, however, remained under investigation, as did the details of the disagreement.

The deaths raised questions about what happens when disagreements over land outlast ordinary attempts at resolution. The available reports do not establish why the men agreed to take part, what rules governed the ritual or whether either man was aware of the risks.