Mary Grace Caballero shows SWAT officers the document pertaining to the ownerships of their land in dispute with CAFFAS beneficiaries. However, the court said that a recent land survey shows their land is part of CAFFAS’ award. (Bobby Lagsa)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Tension rose high in an upland village in this city in the vicinity of areas fast becoming the target of realty developments, as the occupants of a nine-hectare estate contest its ownership by agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Violence accompanied the demolition from June 3 to 5 of the informal settlers in Purok 3, Upper Palalan, Barangay Lumbia, with aggrieved residents defending their homes by putting up a blockade, lighting tires, and installing barricades. As policemen and a demolition crew approached, they even threw stones.
The conflict is between the City Agrarian Free Farmers Association (Caffas) and hundreds of informal settler families.
Caffas claimed that the land had been theirs since 1982. This was corroborated by a longtime resident of the area, 74-year-old Nilo Pagapular, who migrated there in 1972. Pagapular said he heard of Caffas in 1984.
But Pagapular said that no member of Caffas ever tilled the land, which was a windswept land before as it sits beside the Lumbia airport.
The estate is also adjacent to the Vistaland-owned Gran Europa. “Since I lived here in 1972, we never saw farmers from Caffas. Only six families were living here before,” Pagapular said.
Mary Grace Caballero said they would fight for their land because their family has a title, even as it is part of the contested land. She showed reporters a document of the extra-judicial partition of their land. “This is a private property and yet they demolished our houses. They will answer this in court,” Caballero said.
Most of the affected families were willing to move out of the contested property if there was a relocation site for them. “We are willing to move out of here, but the government should provide us relocation so we can restart immediately with our lives,” one of the residents said.
The sheriff on site, who refuses to be identified, said the Caballero property is not part of Caffas property. He told Caballero that the re-survey showed that the land they claimed was not theirs.
Demolition
The police, along with sheriffs from the court, faced off with informal settlers until Special Weapons and Tactics, and Civil Disturbance Management (CDM) units maneuvered to box in the protesters.
Close to 300 houses were demolished in three days of operation, proving to be the most challenging for law enforcers.
Lumbia barangay councilor Violeta Tejon said the city government had prepared a relocation site where the residents could transfer, but it was still under development.
Lieutenant Colonel Evan Viñas, Cagayan de Oro City police office spokesperson, said maximum tolerance was imposed during the demolition even as a warning shot was fired as the informal settlers were throwing bottles and stones.
“We had one wounded personnel on June 4; Captain Reman Pontillas was hit, causing him to sustain a wound,” Viñas said.
Viñas added that even the CDM had to wear their body armor as they had not anticipated the kind of resistance from the affected informal settlers.
Viñas added that police arrested at least three protesters.
He said they would continue to field police officers to help keep the peace in the area as the affected families remove their structures or belongings.