THE Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) is denouncing the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR-10) for delayed actions that are prolonging the rightful land claims of farmers from the Don Carlos Bukidnon United Farmers Association, Inc. (DCBUFAI).
“DCBUFAI members have already endured decades of waiting for their Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA), and the DAR Region 10 is also lackadaisical in their approach to the matter. How many revalidations should they await to claim what is rightfully theirs? Two revalidations have already been conducted, in 2011 and 2017, and a third is still pending this year. The delays are unacceptable and this only shows that they do not have the sense of urgency to resolve this,” said Daisy Aballe, PMCJ’s Food, Land, Water and Climate Campaign staff for Mindanao.
Aballe said DCBUFAI reported that the notice from DAR-10 for a dialogue on July 3, 2025, was received by farmers only on June 30, 2025, giving them little time to prepare.
“If DAR is really serious with their mandate for land tenure security for landless farmers, they need to speed up and get their act together to expedite the land award once and for all,” she added.
The Gold Star Daily recently reported that the DAR-10 office had tentatively scheduled a dialogue for June 26, 2025. This came after PMCJ staff followed up at the agency's office in Cagayan de Oro on June 4 and June 18, 2025.
“The farmers have their hands tied to this bureaucracy. They have no choice but to agree to this lengthy and long-overdue process, despite the lack of clear timelines and action. This grave injustice, brought about by the delay in releasing the farmers’ CLOA, continues to exacerbate the farmers’ already dire conditions during this time of economic and climate crisis,” said PMCJ National Coordinator Ian Rivera.
Rivera added that the people in Mindanao are still recovering from the massive drought in 2016.
“The El Niño was especially destructive on the southern part of Mindanao, which supplies 40% of the country's food, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. The farmers who put food on our tables should own the land they till,” Rivera said.
Rivera also highlighted harassment and intimidation faced by the farmers.
“In August 2010, then-DCBUFAI President Franklin Labial was killed inside his home. Farmers reported that a day before, Labial had gone to Davao Agricultural Ventures Corp. (DAVCO)'s office to appeal to the company to stop the clearing operations it had conducted on the pineapple plantation. The DCBUFAI president and officials, through the years, continue to face multiple cases of harassment from those who have vested interests in their land. This all has to stop,” he said.
DAR-10 has set a dialogue for July 3, 2025, at its regional office in Cagayan de Oro. PMCJ, DCBUFAI, Sanlakas, Makabayan Pilipinas and other organizations are urgently calling on DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III to intervene and immediately resolve the decades-long issue.
“The farmers who till the land for more than three decades deserve to harvest their crops from the land they own. Some of them have already died waiting for it. Farmers are no longer doing this just for themselves, but also for their children and future generations. Farmers and other marginalized sectors play a vital role in the just energy transition, in light of our ongoing fight for climate justice. Let us protect our farmers and fight alongside them for their rights,” Rivera said.
