Subanen Tribe

Subanen Blog

« Back to Subanen Blog « Older Entry | Newer Entry »

Support the Farmers of Kalawit in their struggle to own the land that they till.

Posted by Subanen Tribe Website born on Feb. 26 2006 on June 21, 2008 at 11:52 PM

With the presence of the project, people are deprived of there opportunities. The Case of the Farmers in Sitio San Roque, Kalawit, Zamboanga del Norte Province

Kalawit is an interior town, 200 kilometers away from Dipolog City, Mindanao, Philippines. It is home to Kalibugan Muslims and the Subanen people.

The Muslim Kalibugans and the Subanen people settled in the area long before the coming of christian settlers. In 1940s, settlers searching for lands to till flocked into one of its villages, magubok (now Sitio San Roque(, and together with the Kalibugans and the Subanen, cleared areas for agricultural production. Many more people came believing that Kalawit could give them a future for their families and their children because of the availability of a land to till, a land they can call their own.

Indeed for the Muslim Kalibugans, the Subanen and the early christian settlers, Magubok is their home, their very own.

In the 70s, when the so-called "Muslim-Christian Conflict" intensified and the peace and order situation worsened, the military declared the area as "No Man's Land". The people evacuated to safer grounds for fear of their lives. The people did not come back into the area not until 1980s when the situation became relatively normal. By the middle of the 80s, many of those who left the place came back only to find out that the land they came to know as theirs is now occupied by a government project then known as Palayang Bayan.

With the situation, the people protested and petitioned the government to give their lands back to them. The government refused to listen to the people. But with the people's actions, the Provincial Governor of the Province of Zamboanga del Norte negotiated with the people and told them that they are simply borrowing the land for five years. When the land shall have been made productive, that is after five years of project implementation, the provincial government shall return the lands back to the people.

The people resisted but eventually gave way to the request of the Provincial Government hoping that after five years the lands will be given back to them.

The said promise never realized. And the people were frustrated because they had no documents that can prove that the lands were simply borrowed from them by the Provincial Government.

The situation became hopeless when the Provincial Government of Zamboanga del Norte executed a Deed of Donation of Usufruct in favor of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (MAF) on December 31, 1987. In the said Deed of Donation, the government gave MAF the right to use the 1,651 hectares of land for its projects.

The first project that was put up was the Mindanao Livestock Production Center -- a supposed center for cattle raising. The project started with three hundred cattles but only 30 survived.

In 1990, the Philippine Carabao Center was put up for breeding, and to serve as the take off center for the government's Carabao Dispersal Program.

Another project was put up in 1990, the research farm of the Fiber Industry Development Authority.

These three government projects continue to exist in the area until today.

How it is today
The continued presence of the government projects in Sitio San Roque, Kalawit, Zamboanga del Norte has pushed the Kalibugan Muslims, the Subanen and the Christian farmers in an extremely impoverished living conditions. Around 160 families could hardly survive. Without a land to till, these families could only make use of their backyards, and small farm lots to make a living through gardening and livestock raising. A few others who have been lucky enough managed to plat rice and corn in small farm plots.

As a result of the economic dislocation brought about by the presence of government project in people's lands, many families could hardly afford to feed their children nutritious food, or send them to school, or medicate them when they are sick. Which explains why many among the children are malnourished and sick.

The women are hardly hit by the situation of poverty. Many among them are sick and unhealthy. And many among them have neither the capacity nor the opportunity to look for other sources of income that could augment their living condition.

Indeed, the situation has deprived people of both access to the life-giving resources, and the opportunity to make a living.

With this situation, the farmers have organized themselves and called their organization the Kalawit Tri-people Farmers Association (KATRIFA). The women have also organized themselves into the Kalawit Women's Association for Development (KAWAFED). Even the youth have formed their own organization. These organizations became their r

On several occasion, and from one Government Administration to another, the people have dared to negotiate and dialogue with the authorities. But to no avail. The government made promises that never happened. Until this day, the government has turned a deaf ear on the plight of the people. Despite the promise of bringing development among the poorest of the poor, the government has stood pat on its position not to redistribute the alienable and disposable lands that they are now occupying.

The farmer's lands are just a few inches away from where they are living at the moment. Yet they cannot even make use of these farms because the government has prevented them from doing so.

With this situation, the farmers can only expect the worst.

Issues At Hand

A. Ancestral Domain
The lands occupied by the government is the ancestral lands of both the Kalibugans and the Subanen people. In these lands are found their sacred places, their burial grounds, their hunting grounds. In these lands lie the history of the Subanen and the Kalibugans.

When the government occupied the area, they burned the mosque, bulldozed the burial grounds, and cleared the areas then considered by the Kalibugans and Muslims as their hunting grounds, as well as the place where Magbabaya dwells.

Last February, when all papers have been prepared, the Kalibugans and the Subanen submitted to the government their petition for the realize of their ancestral lands.

B. Alienable and Disposable Lands
Of the 1,651 hectares of land, around 860 hectares are considered Alienable and Disposable. Under the law, A&D lands are supposed to be distributed to the people as these lands can be made very productive, and thus provide opportunity for people's livelihood.

An Appeal for Support

Last December 15, 1998, after realizing that they can only get nothing from dialogues and negotiations, the farmers filed a class suit against the provincial government and the Department of Agriculture. However, realizing that the resolution of the case would take years and years of court trial, the farmers have agreed to settle the issue during the Pre-trial conference, that is, before the Court Trial proper.

It was in the light of this realization that the farmers have agreed among themselves to settle the case through a Compromise Agreement with the Provincial Government and the concerned Government Agencies. This, however, could not be ascertained to be possible given the usual position and option of the government. Only when appropriate and sufficient amount of pressure is generated from support groups will it be possible for the provincial government to enter into a compromise settlement of the problem.

On the basis of these, the farmers requested PhilNet-RDI Zamboanga Project Office to send this piece of information to persons and organizations who might be interested in supporting their case. The farmers' demands are simple: redistribute to them the lands that they once owned and tilled. They government may retain part of those lands but only those that they have already developed, which is about 70 hectares of the 1,651 hectares of land.

What YOU can do

You can support the farmer's struggle by writing to the responsible persons and agencies and requesting them to give heed to the demands of the farmers -- demands that are historically valid and legitimate.

Please write to the following officials:

President Her Excellency Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

Malacanan Palace

Manila, Philippines

Hon. Arthur Yap

Secretary
Department of Agriculture
Malacanan Palace
Manila, Philippines
 
Hon. Dong Puno
Department of Local Government
Malacanan Palace
Manila, Philippines
 
Nasser Pangadangan
Department of Agririan Reform
Malacanan Palace
Manila, Philippines