NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – Town officials of Candoni, Negros Occidental, denied on Wednesday, July 22, claims made by an organized farmers’ organization that about 100 farmers and their families have been adversely affected by the ongoing ground works for a P2-billion palm oil plantation project, and that it threatened to displace more in at least three villages in the municipality.
“It’s impossible,” Mayor Ray Ruiz told Rappler on Wednesday, July 24, citing an agreement between the town government and the Consunji group’s Hacienda Asia Plantation Incorporated (HAPI), which is undertaking the project.
On Tuesday, July 23, the Gatuslao Agro-Forestry, Banana, and Sugarcane Farmers’ Association (GABASFA) said the groundworks had so far affected farming communities in the villages of Agboy, Gatuslao, and Payawan. The group claimed that about 100 farming families were adversely affected.
GABASFA President Carlito Catacata told Rappler in an earlier interview that the project could displace about 1,000 families in the three barangays.
Ruiz, however, assured that no family would be displaced from their homes, and their farms would be left untouched.
He said the Candoni town government and HAPI entered into an agreement that ensures that no resident in the area being developed would be ejected from their homes.
Ruiz also claimed an extensive consultation process took place even before the HAPI commenced its project in the town to make sure there would be an inclusive participation of communities in decision-making.
HAPI secured an Integrated Forest Management Agreement (IFMA) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in 2009 for more than 6,000 hectares of forest land. Only 90 hectares were being used by people there for agricultural pursuits, according to Randy Dolloso, the barangay chairman of Gatuslao.
The mayor said HAPI would use about 3,000 of the 6,652 hectares covered by the IFMA.
“[HAPI] will just use more than 3,000 hectares, including the establishment of its processing plant. Not all lands covered by the agreement will be developed,” he said.
Ruiz said HAPI’s plantation project would only cover an area in Gatuslao and would not extend to the villages of Agboy and Payawan contrary to claims made by GABASFA.
“I am willing to stand and file a petition for the revocation of the palm oil project if my constituents are coerced or intimidated by any personnel of HAPI,” Ruiz said.
Dolloso said he consulted about 300 people, including about 50 members of indigenous peoples’ communities, who have been living and cultivating pieces of land in the area for decades.
He said he is an IP member, and HAPI has provided others like him with employment.
Dolloso, however, admitted that there was one case where HAPI used a piece of land for its project, a revelation that contradicted claims by the town government that no one would be displaced.
He said, “It was resolved by providing the claimant with a relocation site. After that, no agricultural land was disturbed.”
Delloso said an IP community in the area was in the process of obtaining a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). Such a document would recognize the area as ancestral land, ensure communal rights over it, and make the IPs collectively manage and decide what to do with the territory.
Ruiz said the town government would have refused the project if it threatened the well-being of families in the area. But he said they saw that the project would contribute to the local economy and did not threaten biodiversity and people.
Meanwhile, Eduardo Florendo, Candoni municipal agriculturist, said they saw no issues from the perspective of environmental protection based on an assessment made before the approval of the project.
He also said HAPI and the municipal government have agreed that only modern and non-toxic agricultural methods would be applied during the implementation of the project to prevent erosion, pollution, and other environmental damages.
Florendo said environmental specialists were being fielded to monitor the area’s biodiversity weekly to ensure the company’s compliance and prioritize environmental protection.
‘Promises, promises’
Joshua Villalobos, convenor of Negros Initiatives for Climate and Environment (NICE), said the assurances and promises were apparently meant to conceal the project’s environmental impact.
“It is easy to promise and commit that we will do these, and we will do that to protect the environment. But let us look at the history and track record of the conglomerate in other areas and the experience of palm oil plantations in the Philippines that we hope they can address in a public forum,” he said.
Villalobos said they want to hear from the DENR and called on it to transparently present a comprehensive development and management plan (CDMP), including the agency’s impact assessment results, about the HAPI project.
NICE also called on the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) to organize a forum to address crucial issues immediately. Villalobos said such a forum must thoroughly cover the environmental cost and promptly clarify community members’ concerns. – Rappler.com