APECO
This is a story brief on the APECO (Philippines) case presented at the Asian People’s Land Rights Tribunal held at the University of the Philippines last 16-17 January 2014.
A land use conflict case of a state college against agrarian reform beneficiaries is a classic, “Only in the Philippines” case.
How can an educational institution, a state college at that, refuse to turn over a 110-hectare prime, irrigated, agricultural land to its legitimate agrarian reform beneficiaries?
Only five hectares of the disputed land has been utilized by the institution. However, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has not exercised its authority to cover the 105-hectare property under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) for its 56 farmer-beneficiaries.
The disputed land in Barangay Esteves, Casiguran, Aurora, was awarded as a reservation area for a school of fisheries by virtue of Proclamation No. 723 dated 21 August 1934.
In the 1960s, farmers were allowed to develop the reservation in Barangay Esteves from forest lowlands to agricultural land, with the consent of local authorities. The projected 90 hectares came to be known as part of the rice granary and primary food source of northern Aurora. As early as 1963, the farmers submitted a petition to the Bureau of Lands to grant them titles as the legitimate owners.
In 1973, the Secretary of Education and Culture endorsed to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) the amendment of Proclamation of 723 to exclude Lot B, favoring the farmers as actual occupants. The farmers submitted another petition in 1992 for the implementation of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the DAR and Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS), on negotiating the distribution of portions of the school stipulated as within the CARP coverage, in line with EO 506, “Accelerating the Acquisition and Distribution of Land.”
Meanwhile, in 1984, a small portion of the total area was utilized for the Aurora National High
A land use conflict case of a state college against agrarian reform beneficiaries is a classic, “Only in the Philippines” case.
How can an educational institution, a state college at that, refuse to turn over a 110-hectare prime, irrigated, agricultural land to its legitimate agrarian reform beneficiaries?
Only five hectares of the disputed land has been utilized by the institution. However, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has not exercised its authority to cover the 105-hectare property under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) for its 56 farmer-beneficiaries.
The disputed land in Barangay Esteves, Casiguran, Aurora, was awarded as a reservation area for a school of fisheries by virtue of Proclamation No. 723 dated 21 August 1934.
In the 1960s, farmers were allowed to develop the reservation in Barangay Esteves from forest lowlands to agricultural land, with the consent of local authorities. The projected 90 hectares came to be known as part of the rice granary and primary food source of northern Aurora. As early as 1963, the farmers submitted a petition to the Bureau of Lands to grant them titles as the legitimate owners.
In 1973, the Secretary of Education and Culture endorsed to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) the amendment of Proclamation of 723 to exclude Lot B, favoring the farmers as actual occupants. The farmers submitted another petition in 1992 for the implementation of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the DAR and Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS), on negotiating the distribution of portions of the school stipulated as within the CARP coverage, in line with EO 506, “Accelerating the Acquisition and Distribution of Land.”
Meanwhile, in 1984, a small portion of the total area was utilized for the Aurora National High