BMFI

Jan. 3 update:
Sumilao farmers ask DAR to issue
Notice of Coverage and Cease and Desist Order

Sixteen days after the Office of the President issued an Order revoking the Conversion Order of the 144-hectare land in Sumilao, Bukidnon, the Sumilao farmers will go to the Regional Office of the DAR X to ask for the issuance of the Notice of Coverage.

The December 18, 2007 Order signed for the President by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita effectively reverted the 144-hectare land into agricultural use for the failure of the former owner NQSRMC and its new owner San Miguel Foods Inc. (SMFI) to abide with the requirements of the Conversion Order. The Order was issued after 55 farmers from Sumilao walked 1,700 kilometers from their homes to Malacañang, seeking the revocation of the conversion order and subsequently subject the land to agrarian reform.

Upon the issuance of the December18 Order, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo made it clear that it was the first step towards "returning the land to the Sumilao farmers." Ten Sumilao farmers will seek audience with DAR Regional Director John Maruhom today and vowed to camp out in front of the DAR Regional Office in Cagayan de Oro until the Notice of Coverage and the Cease and Desist Order is issued.

Atty. Arlene Bag-ao, legal counsel of the Sumilao farmers, said that the Department of Agrarian Reform and the Office of the President must realize the urgency of decisive action in the Sumilao case. "While the DAR waited for 15 days to allow SMFI to appeal the Order, SMFI continued its construction without let up. Every day that DAR wastes dragging its feet means that the farmers are losing land to SMFI's continuous illegal construction. DAR Secretary Nasser Pangandaman has to stop the illegal construction before it’s too late for his department to implement its program. The ongoing construction of a hog farm was declared illegal and was one of the violations cited in the OP's revocation of the conversion order. It’s about time that DAR should show political will to enforce the order," Bag-ao stressed.

Samuel Merida, president of Mapalad Multi-Purpose Cooperative, said that the Sumilao farmers have allowed the DAR enough space to enforce the order of the Office of the President. "Now that the 15 days have expired, DAR no longer has any alibi to delay subjecting the land to agrarian reform. That is why we are asking DAR Region X Director John Maruhom to immediately issue the Notice of Coverage to begin the process of land distribution," he added.

Napoleon Merida Jr., president of San Vicente Landless Farmers Association (SALFA), said that the Sumilao farmers have already planned out their next moves, including a contingency plan should the DAR and the Office of the President fail to make good of their pronouncements to distribute the land to the Sumilao farmers. "We are ready to cooperate with the DAR should it immediately order SMFI to stop all developments in the area and begin the process of land distribution. However, we have also prepared our contingency plans should the DAR continue dragging its feet allowing SMFI to continue with its illegal construction. By walking from Sumilao to Manila we have shown how much we can sacrifice to assert our rights. We will not stop until the land is distributed under the agrarian reform program. We are ready to sacrifice more for the sake of justice," he said.