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Sumilao farmers face a long court battle, as
officials said only the law can uphold or ignore a recent government
decision that partly resolved a row over a vast tract in Bukidnon
province.
In appealing for patience to
farmers claiming the 144-hectare land in Sumilao town, Mala-cañang
on Wednesday said President Gloria Arroyo’s executive order that
scrapped a previous conversion of the disputed estate into an
agrarian-reform area must take the legal course first before the
problem is settled.
“I hope that people could be
reasonable enough to explain what the President’s decision
means,” Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said. Mrs. Arroyo
junked the order on Tuesday. “Her decision canceling the
conversion order [issued] in 1996 is a political decision. Everyone
should follow certain legal processes.”
Ermita was reacting to reports
that the farmers, mostly of the Higaonon tribe, will insist on
immediate distribution of the property to them. The Quisumbing
family, original owner, had sold the land to a subsidiary of San
Miguel Corp.
“A legal remedy should apply
because the legal process gives the owners the right to contest it
[award of ownership of the estate] in court,” he said.
“They could [file] a motion for
reconsideration before the Court of Appeals, and they could go to
the Supreme Court if it is not resolved there [appellate court].”
“We will see how the situation
develops,” Ermita added. “The matter [of the President’s
recognition of the claim to the estate] was explained to the farmers
and to the Catholic bishops. The Palace hopes that the farmers would
be reasonable enough. Insisting what they want at this time would be
futile.”
The influential Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) praised Mrs.
Arroyo’s decision. The group, however, feared for the outcome of
the case in court, noting that the farmers will be up against a
business giant.
“I am happy about it, [but]
still there’s a lot of work to be done and we don’t know how it
will turn out yet,” said Francisco Claver, Bontoc-Lagawe
bishop-emeritus. He added that San Miguel Foods Inc. may “fight
its way up to the Supreme Court and that would just delay the thing
[decision].”
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick
Pabillo said the decision advanced the cause of the farmers but
would have been more appreciated if the government acted earlier. He
added that he hopes San Miguel “would not deny the farmers their
land.” The food firm was given 15 days to react to the
President’s order.
Msgr. Juanito Figura, CBCP
secretary-general, said Mrs. Arroyo’s decision was “very
encouraging and very much along the line of Christmas giving and
sharing.”
The government will send a
fact-finding mission to Sumilao to identify the real beneficiaries.
The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) supposedly had received
reports that some recipients of certificates of ownership are not
legitimate residents of the disputed land.
The department will review the
certificates.
“Those [certificates] were
[revoked] by the SC [Supreme Court]. The President reversed the
[1996] conversion order and DAR will review the [background of the]
tenants to determine the real beneficiaries,” Ermita said.
He added that Malacañang cannot
say when the department could award the 144 hectares to the farmers.
“We don’t have a
timetable,” Ermita said. “It will depend on legal action that
they will undertake upon receipt of a copy of the order. They must
file for a motion for reconsideration in case they are not
satisfied, they can move to the appellate court and ask for a
temporary restraining order and they still have the last resort to
go to the High Court. It will not work to the advantage of the
farmers but that is the requirement of the law.”
Issuance to the Sumilao farmers
of a notice of coverage over the controversial property is not
possible at this time, the agrarian department said. It added that
it can only do so after the President’s executive order becomes
final and executory.
-- Angelo S. Samonte And William B. Depasupil
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