Sumilao farmers hold tribal ritual in front of SMC office

Higaonon farmers who walked 1, 7000 kilometers from Mindanao to reach Manila held a picket Wednesday in front of the San Miguel Corporate Office in Ortigas Center in Pasig City, to underscore their desire to win back the contested 144-hectare property in Sumilao, Bukidnon which the company’s food division is currently converting into a piggery farm. The protesting farmers conducted their tribal ritual before some 35 of them had their heads shaved – contrary to their tradition – to dramatize their protest and to signify “new life" as they continue their struggle to reclaim the land formerly owned by Norberto Quisumbing. Meanwhile, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) assured farmers of prompt resolution of the Sumilao case. DAR Secretary Nasser Pangandaman said he had instructed the Center for Land Use Policy, Planning, and Implementation (CLUPPI) to convene on Wednesday and submit their findings and recommendations Thursday. “I cannot tell exactly when, but we are bent on solving this issue as soon as possible," Pangandaman said. During the ocular inspection Tuesday, the DAR team found that five buildings were already constructed in the area, two of which were already furnished with feeding devices and other structures for female and male pigs. The DAR said the whole project, being undertaken by the land’s new owner San Miguel Food Inc. (SMFI), would cost around P3 billion and could generate as many as 4,000 workers or employees. Initially, the farmers were given a collective certificate of land ownership award (CLOA) by the DAR. However, former Executive Secretary Ruben Torres approved a conversion order for the property, which effectively canceled the CLOA of the farmers. The SC eventually upheld the conversion order from the Office of the President (OP). In February 2002, San Miguel Corp. bought the property from the Quisumbing family. However, farmers argue that the conversion order must already be revoked since development in the area took place after the five-year period indicated in the conversion order. The farmers filed their motion for reconsideration before the OP, and on November 16, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita issued an order remanding the Sumilao case to the DAR for appropriate resolution. - GMANews.TV