MORE than 80 members of the Don Carlos Bukidnon United Farmers Association Inc. (DCBUFAI) staged a protest outside the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR-10) office yesterday, July 3, demanding the release of their Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA).

Lawyer Aaron Pedrosa, legal head of the Philippine Movement of Climate Justice (PMCJ) and legal counsel for the farmers, stated that three decades of waiting is enough.

He added that DAR-10 has conducted three revalidations for these 109 members to receive their CLOAs, which “until now remains a promise.”

“We hope not another 33 years,” Pedrosa said, pointing out the 30-year delay in land distribution.

The land, previously owned by Eduardo ‘Danding’ Cojuangco Jr., was turned over to the government in 1986 for agrarian reform.

The 109 members of DCBUFAI, who ideally would be planting their own rice, are currently growing pineapples on the land they claim, benefiting renters involved in the export business.

PROTEST. Farmers from the Don Carlos Bukidnon United Farmers Association Inc. (DCBUFAI) call for action against “encroaching capitalists” and assert their land rights during a demonstration in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR-10) office in Cagayan de Oro on July 3. Photo by Shiela Mae Butlig

Jovencio Destor Jr., president of DCBUFAI, expressed the farmers’ persistent efforts to claim the land they have tilled.

“Na hadlok na kami nga di na namo ma abtan, nga mangamatay na lang mi sa hinulata,” Destor said.

Pat Jared Pagantihon, communication officer for Mindanao of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, affirmed the group’s continued support for DCBUFAI’s call to the government to claim their land and plant rice instead of pineapples.

“Importante ang mga mag uuma para sa humay dili para sa pinya nga maski pa magsuroy ta sa Bukidnon walay gapamaligyag pinya pero 80 percent sa entiro munisipyo puro pinya ang gatubo,” Pagantihon told Gold Star Daily.

Pedrosa noted that they asked DAR-10 for a timeline for the land distribution to DCBUFAI.

Yesterday, after a dialogue, DAR-10 officials left the office promising to believe in the farmers, a promise Pedrosa said they would wait to see fulfilled.

He emphasized that this is not just the story of DCBUFAI but of all agrarian reform beneficiaries who have struggled to claim their land.

“Pahinumdom kini nga pakyas ang Agrarian reform program, daghan buslot, daghan ang wala na enforce, daghan pag antos sa agrarian reform beneficiaries,” Pedrosa said, adding that this situation is “a slap” to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s mandate for food security.