IP groups have no claim to 7,000-hectare property in Bugsuk Island, DAR says
THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said that groups citing ownership of a 7,000-hectare Bugsuk Island in Palawan do not have claim and are not party to agrarian reform distribution.
“They have no claim there, they are not party to the case,” Agrarian Reform Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Napoleon U. Galit told BusinessWorld in a phone call.
This was in response to an indigenous peoples (IP) group called Sambilog-Balik Bugsuk Movement, which questioned the DAR’s decision stating that the Bugsuk Isand properties were not subject to Agrarian Reform distribution.
On Monday, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) asserted its ownership of the 7,000-hectare property stating that the titles had predated Republic Act (RA) 8731, the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997, and no certificate of ancestral domain title exists for the properties.
“Any reacquisition by the government would violate the just compensation already provided and infringe upon the constitutional rights of the lawful owners,” SMC said in a statement.
SMC had said that the DAR had upheld its Aug. 15 and Sept. 20, 2023 orders that stated the property was not subject for distribution due to it not being “sustainable for agriculture.”
The DAR had previously issued a Notice of Coverage for 10,821 hectares of Bugsuk and its surrounding islands, including agricultural lands and timberlands. These were covered under RA 9700 the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms.
In a statement dated Dec. 3, the Sambilog-Balik Bugsuk Movement said that it “strongly opposed” SMC’s claim of ownership of the 7,000-hectare property.
“The land claimed by SMC is ancestral land of the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) who have long resided in Bugsuk, Palawan,” the group said.
It added that the group filed an application for a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title for 56,000 hectares of Bugsuk Island and other neighboring islands with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples in 2005 but has not yet been granted.
Mr. Galit said that the Palawan site was part of a property swap between the government and the parties which previously held titles to the land, exchanging the Palawan site with a 1,000-hectare agricultural property in Nueva Ecija.
“It cannot be subjected to the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program because it was already subjected,” he added.
He said that the contested property was located in a forested area, “Kaya nga walang ni isa man na may nakaka-occupa dyan (That’s why no one is occupying it.)”
He added that the IPs have not yet provided any proper claim to the contested property.
“The RA 8731 was enacted under the 1987 Constitution. So therefore, all lands belong to the state,” Mr. Galit said. — Adrian H. Halili
