DENR terminates protected area agreement with alleged Surigao cult

Sen. Ronald dela Rosa leads an inspection on Oct. 14 at Sitio Kapihan in Socorro, Surigao del Norte, where the Socorro Bayanihan Services Inc. built an enclave. The group was earlier exposed for its cult-like activities and alleged abuses committed on its members, especially children.  (SENATE PRIB)

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Monday announced that it has terminated an agreement awarding  alleged cult Socorro Bayanihan Services Incorporated (SBSI), a vast protected area in Surigao del Norte.

The Protected Area Community-Based Resource Management Agreement (PACBRMA) No. 74007 awarded SBSI 353 hectares of protected area in Surigao del Norte.

But the DENR said the agreement was terminated due to several violations committed by SBSI, including:

• establishment of settlement or residence in the PACBRMA area,
• the establishment of checkpoints strictly regulating the entry of non-members.
• failure to submit the required monthly, quarterly, or annual reports about the implementation of its Community-based Resource Management Plan (CRMP), 
• Establishing infrastructure such as new access roads, a communal quadrangle with a basketball and volleyball court, a stage with bleachers, a wave pool, a recording studio, a radio station, a gymnasium/dome, landscaping, and monuments that are not included in the CRMP.

The DENR said it is already working with the Department of Justice, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, as well as the provincial government on the resettlement of affected occupants.

“Currently, the collaborative team is working on the reintegration and resettlement of affected occupants,” said the DENR in a statement.

“There are 404 households of tenured migrants in the said PACBRMA area that will be relocated,” it added.

The DENR first confirmed the establishment of houses and other residential structures prohibited in the CRMP in 2019.

In 2023, Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga issued a Letter of Suspension to the Socorro Bayanihan Services Inc. (SBSI) after it introduced improvements and structures in the area that are not under the Protected Area Management Plan and without the required endorsement from the Protected Area Management Board.

The SBSI had also been a subject of controversy after being investigated by a Senate committee for alleged human rights violations.

Complaints have already been filed against leaders of the SBSI for alleged violation of qualified trafficking, kidnapping, and serious illegal detention, the Act Prohibiting the Practice of Child Marriage, and the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination.