Sumilao farmers to DAR chief: Don’t abandon us

After successfully trekking 1,700 kilometers from Mindanao to Manila, even arriving in the metropolis earlier than planned, farmers from Sumilao, Bukidnon are now praying that the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) would not forsake them.

In a statement, the Higaonon farmers said they embarked on the “Walk for Justice” to assert their claim on a 144-hectare property and that they hope that the DAR, through Secretary Nasser Pangandaman, would undo its “past mistake” and “do justice” this time by giving back to them the land that was awarded to them more than 10 years ago.

“The DAR abandoned us in the past by letting the land conversion order go unchallenged. It failed to file a motion for reconsideration on time, thus the Supreme Court upheld the conversion order,” said Napoleon Merida Jr., chairman of the San Vicente Landless Farmers’ Association.

“As a result, the CLOAs (certificates of land ownership award) of the farmer-beneficiaries were cancelled, and their land was given back to the landowner who, in the end, did not honor the land conversion order,” he said. 

The farmers issued their plea as Pangandaman personally inspected the contested land formerly owned by Norberto Quisumbing in Barangay San Vicente, Sumilao town. The property was sold to and is now being developed by San Miguel Foods Inc. (SMFI). 

In an interview Monday, Pangandaman said he would like to see the disputed land for himself before he decides on the farmers’ demand to issue a cease-and-desist order against SMFI and to place anew the property under the coverage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). 

But Merida insisted that if Pangandaman really wanted to, he could have issued a cease-and-desist order even while the DAR is reviewing the Sumilao case, which involves 165 farmer-beneficiaries. 

“It seems that Secretary Pangandaman does not have a sense of urgency for our case, but we pray (that he would) not abandon us,” he said. 

Earlier, Pangandaman was reported to have said that he was not bound by any deadline to make a decision on the matter, even if it was Malacañang which remanded the Sumilao case to his department for appropriate resolution.