HUG FROM THE PRESIDENT. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo embraces Hilda Sanahan inside the Aguinaldo State Dining Room of Malacañang. Sanahan is one of the 55 Sumilao farmers who, for two months, walked around 1,700 kilometers from Sumilao in Bukidnon to Manila seeking help from Arroyo and public support in their struggle to gain ownership of a 144-hectare property in their hometown. At left is Gary Galarrita, one of the six Sumilao farmers aside from Hilda who represented their group together with a few lawyers and members of the clergy. PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/LYN RILLON
By Beverly T. Natividad, Michael Lim Ubac Inquirer First Posted 23:37:00 12/17/2007
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Monday embraced farmers who had walked for 1,700 kilometers over two months to see her in Malacañang to demand a return of their ancestral land, which a Catholic bishop in a meeting with her late Monday night predicted would result in a "positive" decision.
After an hourlong meeting with the farmers in Malacañang in the afternoon, Arroyo proceeded to the headquarters of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines where she again met with Bishops Francisco Claver, Dinualdo Gutierrez and Broderick Padillo for a 30-45 minute consultation. Three representatives of the Sumilao farmers were present in the gathering.
Briefing reporters later Monday night, Padillo said that Arroyo, accompanied by Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol, Bukidnon Gov. Jose Zubiri and Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman, outlined a decision to resolve the farmers' demands.
"We're very optimistic about the decision," Padillo said, but added that he did not wish to preempt Arroyo in announcing the result of the meeting, possibly Wednesday. He said it would be just and would include a moral dimension to the solution.
Early Monday afternoon, riot police dropped their truncheons and instead offered roses and water to the farmers and scores of their supporters at Mendiola Bridge in their second attempt to march on Malacañang in two weeks to press their demand for the return of 144 hectares of land in Bukidnon.
San Miguel Corp. is developing the land it acquired from the Quisumbing family, which had sold the property after failing to keep its promise to turn it into an agricultural showcase. However, SMC is converting the land into a pig farm, prompting the farmers' demand for the return of the property under the administration's land reform program.
Six representatives of the farmers, along with several lawyers, churchmen and nongovernment representatives, met with the President in Malacanang. Arroyo hugged some of the farmers, before she sat down for an hour to listen to their plight.
Even before the late Monday night meeting, Cerge Remonde, chief of the Presidential Management Staff, said that Arroyo was "leaning toward a pro-farmer policy."
Remonde and Apostol, who were present during the afternoon meeting, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that Arroyo was inclined to grant the wish of the farmers to regain a 144-hectare property that was being developed by San Miguel Corp. (SMC).
"The discussion is going smoothly here," Remonde said in a text message during the afternoon dialogue.
When asked if awarding the land to the farmers would be Arroyo's gift to them, Remonde said: "Looks like [it]."
At this writing, Palace officials said they expected a "major breakthrough" in the decade-old battle of the farmers to obtain ownership of the land that had been earlier awarded to them under the agrarian reform program.
Heart-to-heart talk In the afternoon meeting, the farmers handed to the President a letter from Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, who was not present.
"During their heart-to-heart meeting, the farmers expressed their hopes and aspirations which Bukidnon Gov. Jose Zubiri Jr. endorsed," Bunye said, recalling that "individually, all six of them, recounted their aspirations."
The farmers, accompanied by scores of supporters, were fetched by Bunye and Remonde from the San Beda University chapel, where they heard Mass prior to meeting Arroyo.
Members of the Manila Police District at Mendiola Bridge met the farmers and distributed two dozen red roses and bottles of mineral water "to comfort them and quench their thirst," said Chief. Supt. Roberto Rosales.
Police, armed with truncheons and shields, on Dec. 17 had blocked the marchers on their way to Malacañang.
Hog farm opposed Farmers Napoleon, Eugene and Samuel Merida, Gary Galarrita, Linda Ligmon and Hilda Sam-ahon represented the 150 families demanding ownership of the disputed property in Sumilao, Bukidnon, which will be turned by an SMC subsidiary into a hog farm.
They were accompanied by lawyers Arlene Pag-ao and Marlon Manuel, nongovernment organization representative Jane Capacio, Bishops Pabillo and Claver and Fathers Danny Huang and Anton Pascual.
Besides Bunye, Remonde and Apostol, also present at the meeting were Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral and Presidential Adviser on Eclessiastical Affairs Conrado "Dodie" Limcauco.
Groundwork Apostol said that at the afternoon meeting, "Practically, we have laid the groundwork for finalization (of an agreement on land ownership). But it might be finalized tonight or not."
Asked about the bone of contention, he said: "What do they want? What they want really is to give (back) the land to them."
Apostol said there was a free-flowing discussion, but "the President would like to talk to some bishops" in the evening meeting.
Bunye said "a number of issues" would have to be discussed in the second meeting.
"But what was clear (is that) there was no disagreement (on the issues raised by the farmers). We just find out what happens during the subsequent meeting," he said.
Bunye stressed that the farmers were able to "release" their grievances in Arroyo's presence.
Decisive action Napoleon Merida Jr., chair of the San Vicente Landless Farmers Association and leader of the marchers, had said prior to the meeting that if through their walk they were able to convince the church people of "the righteousness and sincerity of our cause, we are hopeful that we can likewise convince the President so that she will take decisive action to resolve our case."
Arroyo had allotted the entire afternoon for the meeting.
Earlier in the day, she attended the orientation on infant and young child feeding for medical directors and chiefs of hospitals at the Manila Hotel.
She later proceeded to Pasay City and led the distribution of rice under the government's Christmas rice program and had an informal interaction with officials from Zones 17, 18 and 19 at the Malibay Sports Complex Plaza.
After meeting the farmers, Arroyo led the oath-taking and hosted a dinner for the newly elected officials of the Malacañang League of Barangays in the Palace at 8 p.m.
Sale to SMC disputed The farmers--members of or descended from Bukidnon's indigenous Higaonon community--are disputing the sale of the property by the Quisumbing family to San Miguel Foods Inc. (SMFI), insisting that the land should be subjected to land reform.
They walked 1,700 km from Barangay San Vicente in Sumilao to Manila to convince the government to stop the conversion of the land, where the primary income was growing corn, into a hog farm by SMFI.
They had camped out in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) central office in Quezon City since reaching Manila on Dec. 3. This was where they had set out yesterday to march on Malacañang.
The land case is up for DAR resolution after it was remanded by Malacañang on Nov. 22.
Status quo order The Sumilao farmers asked the President to reverse the status quo order that Pangandaman issued on Wednesday ordering the farmers to respect SMFI's ownership and possession of the land and allow SMFI to proceed with ongoing farm development activities.
SMFI planned to build a multibillion-peso state-of-the-art vertically integrated agro-industrial estate for Sumilao. It will be equipped with modern feed mills, poultry and piggery farms, wastewater treatment facilities, a reservoir and provisions for forest development.
It said the blueprint was done in consultation with the farmers, who have since joined the protest movement.
Agro-industrial estate SMFI said that to date, 21 of 40 buildings that would make up the agro-industrial estate had been completed. Investment in Sumilao will amount to an estimated P2.4 billion, which it said was far greater than any projected future value of the land.
Bag-ao said the order was "completely unacceptable" to the farmers who want SMFI to stop all activities on the property pending the DAR's resolution of the case.
Fellow lawyer Manuel said the facts of the case remained "plain and simple" since the land was awarded to the farmers through the issuance of collective land ownership awards (CLOAs).
The Sumilao land dispute was triggered by the move of Norberto Quisumbing, who then owned the land, to apply for conversion and proposed a five-year development plan.
Malacañang subsequently approved the conversion based on the proposed plan.
The farmers protested the land conversion, but the Supreme Court upheld the order, and the CLOAs of the farmers were cancelled.
Supreme Court decision The farmers argued that Quisumbing did not implement the development plan, thus violating the terms of the conversion order. They said that the conversion period had lapsed but Quisumbing still sold the land to SMFI in 2002.
The farmers said SMFI did not comply with the conversion either, so the land should now be covered under CARP and redistributed to the farmers.
On Wednesday, Pangandaman said there were several unassailable facts that would guide him in deciding on the farmers' demand to issue a cease-and-desist order against the construction of a hog farm on the property by SMFI.
He said that the conversion order issued by Malacañang in 1994 and upheld by the Supreme Court in 1999 still stands, and that the CARP law did not state that a new owner of a disputed property was bound by the conversion pledges made by the previous owner.
Pangandaman also noted that the sale of the property to SMFI appeared aboveboard.
With reports from Allison W. Lopez and Jerome Aning
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