Indigenous group occupies Bukidnon ranch, urges DENR to junk deal

MARAMAG, Bukidnon - Members of an indigenous group in the villages of Panalsalan and Dagumbaan in Maramag, Bukidnon, occupied and planted crops on a 520-hectare land that used to be the cattle ranch of former Kibawe Mayor Ernesto Villalon. Saying they have to avert food shortage in their communities, 100 members of the Panalsalan Dagumbaan Tribal Association (Padata) planted fruit trees and corn in the ranch pending the approval of their Community-based Forest Management (CBFM) application for property. Villalon's Forest Land Grazing Lease Agreement (FLGLA) No. 1816 expired on December 1997. Its control thus technically reverted to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Since the place is mountainous and is part of the Kulkul Range and classified as timberland, the new settlers claimed it is viable for the CBFM program. Padata chief Datu Henry Aslag had applied for a CBFM at the office of the DENR but the department has not acted on the matter yet. CBFM is a strategy for sustainable forest development that addresses rural poverty and promoting social justice. Under this program, the community or actual residents in a production forest are the de facto managers of the land, allowing them to develop, utilize and conserve specific portions of the forest lands within a 25-year production-sharing agreement. The growing poverty incidence in these two villages caused the indigenous group to apply for CBFM and occuppy the timberland that had been under DENR supervision since 1997. Aslag justified this, saying: "In order to survive, 70 percent of our members eke out a living as seasonal agri-workers of a nearby banana plantation earning a meager P70-100 daily. We must start planting before we run out of budget to buy NFA rice." DENR data show that the total forest land area in Bukidnon is 669,576 hectares, comprised of 187,548 hectares of production forest and 481,978 hectares of protection forest. To date, only 15 percent or 26,977.9 hectares of the total production forest has CBFM application. When approved, Padata would be the 48th CBFM holder in the province. "Embracing the spirit of CBFM which promotes social justice, we appeal to Secretary Atienza to grant our CBFM application the earliest time possible," said Aslag, a leader of the Talaandig tribe. He also urged the office of the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) to expedite the Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) process which is a requirement before DENR shall approve their CBFM application. Padata also submitted to Secretary Atienza a petition for denial of Villalon's lease renewal after the DENR regional office endorsed the said application despite the absence of a certification from the NCIP. "We actually question the action of DENR Regional Executive Director Maximo Dichoso. We do not want to believe that there is a connivance between Villalon and the DENR regional office behind Secretary Atienza's watch," said Aslag. He argued that it will be unreasonable for DENR to retain Villalon's ranch because of his failure to develop the land for cattle grazing by giving up his control over around 150 hectares to farmers. Aslag said that the most effective approach to revive the productivity of the land and conserve the forest is to rather distribute the land to landless farmers through CBFM. - GMANews.TV