Some SBSI members leave Sitio Kapihan

Some Socorro Bayanihan Services, Inc. (SBSI) members fled Sitio Kapihan following the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' (DENR) decision to suspend an agreement allowing the group to manage a part of the protected area in Surigao del Norte. 

One of those who returned to the town proper were 60-year-old Lebe Enanog and her husband, Recarte Sabandal, who had lived in Sitio Kapihan for four years. 

Sabandal had attempted to escape from the community four times but failed due to his condition. The 63-year-old suffered from a stroke. 

“Ang mga gwardya, umiikot sa likod…private army. Diskarte na nga lang maglabas,” he said in Marisol Abdurahman's report on ''24 Oras.''

(There are guards that roam the area. It’s a private army, and they are barring us from leaving.)

The elderly couple left after the start of the Senate hearing on the reported illegal activities of the organization, but Sabandal and some SBSI officials called him earlier to demand their return. 

“Kaninang umaga, tinawagan kami, bumalik doon. Hindi na kami babalik, si Senior Aguila preso na, nakulong,” he said. 

(They called us this morning, telling us we should go back. We refused. Senior Agila is now in jail.)

For his part, Raffy, their 16-year-old grandson, said he was relieved after they left Sitio Kapihan.

He recalled trying to escape the organization twice, saying the SBSI members attempted to marry him off twice—the first time when he was only 14 years old.

“Parang hindi na po makatarungan. Hindi nga kasi free yung mga kwan doon,” he said. 

(It’s an injustice. The people there are not free.)

According to Socorro Mayor Riza Timcang, several members of the SBSI also left Sitio Kapihan, and other teachers had already returned to their jobs. 

Timcang also said they had conducted a meeting on how they could help those who returned from SBSI, including their housing woes. 

“Pagmeetingan pa namin kug anong kayang maitulong ng LGU,” she said. 

“Sa ngayon pwede naman namin i-offer and evacuation center ng munisipyo. ‘Yung training center. Pwede rin magagamit ang kumbento, at barangay gym.''

(We’re still conducting a meeting on how we can help them. What we can offer now is our evacuation center, training center, convent, and barangay gym.)

The SBSI said they are waiting for the coordination of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regarding the suspension of the Protected Area Community-Based Resource Management Agreement (PACBRMA). 

A PACBRMA is a legal instrument between the DENR and tenured migrant groups to develop and conserve a portion of a protected area for 25 years. —Sundy Locus/VBL, GMA Integrated News