• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
Several international environmental advocate groups supported local farmers’ organizations in Negros Occidental in fighting against what they described as ‘questionable negotiations’ in the Integrated Forest Management Agreement (IFMA) between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Hacienda Asia Plantations Inc. (HAPI) in Candoni.
The joint protesters launched an International Learning and Solidarity Mission (ILSM) to investigate the injustices faced by the local farmers, workers, and indigenous peoples at the hands of HAPI.
The cause-oriented groups visited the Barangay Gatuslao in Candoni, a barangay affected by the palm oil plantation, and investigated firsthand the socio-economic and environmental effects on the community and the working conditions.
Based on their claims, initial findings point to human rights and labor violations, military and police harassment, forced displacement, and serious damage to local water sources.
The deforestation also led to the loss of wildlife habitat once home to wild boars, iguanas, various other native birds, monitor lizards, deer, and others. The earth-moving activities, like illegal quarrying and terracing, have caused severe soil erosion, leading to an increased risk of landslides and unstable terrain.
Other issues thrown by the group against HAPI were several violations of the Philippine labor law where farmers were employed below minimum wage and without benefits.
The possible displacement of Indigenous Peoples and intrusion into ancestral lands also drew the attention of the National Commission on Indigenous People, which they claimed violated the existing protection laws for IPs.
The over 6,000-hectare palm oil plantation is a prime example of a large-scale project that directly benefits people like the Consunjis and Aranetas in the guise of ‘development,’” HAKSON Inc. Campaign Officer RJ Ledesma said.
CANCELLATION OF IFMA
The groups also called for the termination of the IFMA granted by the DENR to the HAPI, questioning the legal process of the agreement.
According to Ledesma, an IFMA can be granted to any private institutions only if the land they will utilize is barren or idle land. However, he said that even prior to the agreement, the land in Candoni had already been planted by the agrarian reform beneficiaries, which is contrary to the law.
“The call to revoke IFMA by the IPs is just. The DENR shouldn’t have granted the IFMA because the said area is planted with agricultural crops. Makabayan will file a house resolution to conduct a congressional inquiry into these violations,” Makabayan President Liza Maza stressed.
The 6,000-hectare area will affect the livelihood of more than 300 farmers and their families and will have a negative impact on the residents living near the plantation due to soil erosion, which will cause the land to be soft and possibly will be a cause of landslides, Ledesma reported.
The findings of the ILSM will be submitted to the concerned agencies to seek their attention and call for action.*
