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Misamis Oriental Oil Palm Plantation Draws Fire
Misamis Oriental Oil Palm Plantation Draws Fire
20/03/2015 (Sun.Star) - A House of Representatives inquiry has found that the owner of an oil palm plantation in Misamis Oriental “cut corners” to set up the plantation on land owned by a local tribe.
The House Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples said there were lapses committed by A. Brown, the local government and other agencies involved in putting up the plantation in Barangays Bagocboc and Tingalan in Opol town.
The plantation stands on 520 hectares of land within the ancestral domain of the Higaonons.
“While we call on all our Higaonon brothers and sisters to unite in order to help push government agencies to work toward completing the Dulangan unified ancestral domain claim, we cannot ignore the facts that A. Brown has not complied with the requirements in bringing its oil palm project into the area,” Committee chair and North Cotabato Rep. Nancy Catamco said during a public hearing last week.
Catamco’s committee went to Opol last March 11 and 12 to look into the plight of the Higaonon farmers.
“This hearing hopes to help in resolving the various issues now confronting the Higaonons of Opol and find ways of helping preserve their cultural identity, making government agencies and all parties accountable for the alleged violations of relevant laws, most importantly the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997,” Catamco said.
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate cited the “many problematic and illegal lapses in the establishment and continuing existence of the oil palm project in Opol,” based on reports from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the lumad organization Kalumbay.
“Apparently, A. Brown and two out of its eight listed subsidiaries – A Brown Energy and Resources Development, Inc. (ABERDI) and Nakeen
Corporation – cut corners to get its palm oil project going in the Higaonon ancestral domain sans going through the tedious free and prior informed and consent (FPIC) process as mandated by the IPRA,” Zarate said.
NCIP Region 10 Acting Director Roberto Almonte said that “any project or investment that is to be put up in an ancestral domain or territory should get an FPIC from the indigenous community in the area even if the community has yet to get its Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) as long as there is a claim.”
A. Brown maintains it didn’t violate the FPIC process but just failed to complete it.
Jomorito Goaynon, chairperson of Kalumbay Regional Lumad Organization, said the congressional inquiry has established that A. Brown has no legal basis in occupying the disputed land.
The Dulangan unified ancestral domain claim is still pending at the NCIP Regional office “due to lack of funds to do the survey and titling.”
Catamco, Uy and Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan admonished the NCIP for “sitting on the Dulangan claim and for not informing the House panel of their alleged lack of funds to do their mandate.”
Goaynon said A. Brown promised community members of hospitals, scholarships and other services and company representatives also assured community members that those who did not want to give up their lands for the plantation would not be forced to do so.
Goaynon said that 520 hectares were released by the government through DENR in 1991 to Paras Machinery Works, Inc. under a Forest Land Grazing Lease Agreement (FLGLA) No. 614. The FLGLA was for a term of 25 years, covering the period 1991-2016.
But the area was never developed by Paras Machinery Works. The land was reclaimed by Higaonon families in 2002 for their traditional agricultural practices.
On March 4, 2011, FLGLA No. 614 was cancelled through an order issued by Undersecretary Ernesto Adobo Jr.
During the inquiry, Goaynon appealed to the committee to examine the paper from DENR that further showed that “under DAO No. 98-08 dated June 24, 1998, Community Based Forestry Management (CBFM) Programs granted to Peoples’ Organizations (POs) the privilege to enter into contracts with private and government entities and individuals for the utilization of portions or entire CBFM area.”
The House Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples said there were lapses committed by A. Brown, the local government and other agencies involved in putting up the plantation in Barangays Bagocboc and Tingalan in Opol town.
The plantation stands on 520 hectares of land within the ancestral domain of the Higaonons.
“While we call on all our Higaonon brothers and sisters to unite in order to help push government agencies to work toward completing the Dulangan unified ancestral domain claim, we cannot ignore the facts that A. Brown has not complied with the requirements in bringing its oil palm project into the area,” Committee chair and North Cotabato Rep. Nancy Catamco said during a public hearing last week.
Catamco’s committee went to Opol last March 11 and 12 to look into the plight of the Higaonon farmers.
“This hearing hopes to help in resolving the various issues now confronting the Higaonons of Opol and find ways of helping preserve their cultural identity, making government agencies and all parties accountable for the alleged violations of relevant laws, most importantly the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997,” Catamco said.
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate cited the “many problematic and illegal lapses in the establishment and continuing existence of the oil palm project in Opol,” based on reports from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the lumad organization Kalumbay.
“Apparently, A. Brown and two out of its eight listed subsidiaries – A Brown Energy and Resources Development, Inc. (ABERDI) and Nakeen
Corporation – cut corners to get its palm oil project going in the Higaonon ancestral domain sans going through the tedious free and prior informed and consent (FPIC) process as mandated by the IPRA,” Zarate said.
NCIP Region 10 Acting Director Roberto Almonte said that “any project or investment that is to be put up in an ancestral domain or territory should get an FPIC from the indigenous community in the area even if the community has yet to get its Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) as long as there is a claim.”
A. Brown maintains it didn’t violate the FPIC process but just failed to complete it.
Jomorito Goaynon, chairperson of Kalumbay Regional Lumad Organization, said the congressional inquiry has established that A. Brown has no legal basis in occupying the disputed land.
The Dulangan unified ancestral domain claim is still pending at the NCIP Regional office “due to lack of funds to do the survey and titling.”
Catamco, Uy and Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan admonished the NCIP for “sitting on the Dulangan claim and for not informing the House panel of their alleged lack of funds to do their mandate.”
Goaynon said A. Brown promised community members of hospitals, scholarships and other services and company representatives also assured community members that those who did not want to give up their lands for the plantation would not be forced to do so.
Goaynon said that 520 hectares were released by the government through DENR in 1991 to Paras Machinery Works, Inc. under a Forest Land Grazing Lease Agreement (FLGLA) No. 614. The FLGLA was for a term of 25 years, covering the period 1991-2016.
But the area was never developed by Paras Machinery Works. The land was reclaimed by Higaonon families in 2002 for their traditional agricultural practices.
On March 4, 2011, FLGLA No. 614 was cancelled through an order issued by Undersecretary Ernesto Adobo Jr.
During the inquiry, Goaynon appealed to the committee to examine the paper from DENR that further showed that “under DAO No. 98-08 dated June 24, 1998, Community Based Forestry Management (CBFM) Programs granted to Peoples’ Organizations (POs) the privilege to enter into contracts with private and government entities and individuals for the utilization of portions or entire CBFM area.”