Cimatu orders probe on coffee plantation contract as IP community takes him to court

ENVIRONMENT SECRETARY Roy A. Cimatu has ordered a speedy investigation on the Integrated Forest Management Agreement (IFMA) of agricultural company M&S CO. in South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat. He issued the directive after the indigenous peoples (IP) group T’boli-Manobo S’daf Claimants Organization (Tamasco) filed a case against him in court for alleged neglect of duty over the continued illegal operation of a coffee plantation in their ancestral domain. “I ordered our Legal Team to conduct thorough investigation and give priority on this,” Mr. Cimatu said in a statement. M&S Co.’s IFMA covers about 29,000 hectares of public land for 28 years. It is an affiliate of the Consunji-led DMCI Holdings, Inc. and is operating the Dawang Coffee Plantation in South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, a part of which is under the ancestral domain of the IP. The company’s IFMA supposedly expired in 2016, but was renewed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) without the consent of the T’boli and Manobo. A formal complaint was submitted to the DENR in July this year. The case against Mr. Cimatu was filed on November 15 at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court. The DENR chief said he has not approved the IFMA. “I fully disagree with the accusation of the group because this activity happened before my time,” he said, “To date, I never approved any Integrated Forest Management Agreement. If ever I need to approve, I will ensure that our indigenous peoples welfare will be given the utmost priority.” — Vincent Mariel P. Galang