HONTIVEROS URGES PROBE INTO VIOLENT EVICTION OF AGRARIAN REFORM BENEFICIARIES IN SITIO BALUBAD

Senator Risa Hontiveros is urging the Senate to probe into the implementation of agrarian reform laws following the violent eviction of Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) holders in Sitio Balubad, Barangay Anunas, Angeles City.

"This violence against our farmers is a clear betrayal of the promise of agrarian reform. Kailangang protektahan ang karapatan ng mga benepisyaryo ng agrarian reform at alamin kung bakit patuloy na nangyayari ang ganitong mga karahasan," Hontiveros said.

Proposed Senate Resolution (PSR) No. 979 calls for the appropriate Senate committee to conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, into the implementation of agrarian reform laws in light of these violent incidents.

On March 12, 2024, Clarkhills Properties Corporation forcibly evicted 2,000 residents from disputed land in Sitio Balubad. This escalated into a violent confrontation, injuring eight people, including an elderly woman. Witnesses reported security guards firing shots at residents and also journalists covering the incident. There was a previous attempt of eviction in February, which likewise ended in violence.

The residents, as Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs), had acquired CLOAs from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). However, the CLOAs were later canceled by the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) because the land was deemed residential, not agricultural.

Alyansa ng Mga Maka-Maralitang Asosasyon ng Kapatirang Organisasyon, Inc. (AMAKO) and its successors, including Clarkhills, sought recovery of possession before the PARAD and writs of execution and demolition were issued against CLOA-holders and other occupants. Despite the cancellation, residents continued to pay amortizations for the land.

The Resolution stated, "The cancelation of the residents' CLOAS and subsequent attempts to evict them from their homes appear to be contrary to the primary objective of the country's agrarian reform program, which is to uphold the welfare of the landless farmers and farmworkers, promote social justice, and establish owner cultivatorship of economic-size farms as the basis of Philippine agriculture."

Residents also question the continued exercise by the DARAB of jurisdiction over the disputed property, considering it was previously declared to be residential and not agricultural, and thus ostensibly exempted from CARP coverage.

"Ginawaran ng lupa ang mga pamilyang ito, pero brutal namang kinukuha sa kanila. This reveals a system that is broken and demands urgent reform. Dapat nating matukoy ang mga puwang sa batas at polisiya upang maiwasan ang mga ganitong kawalan ng hustisya," the Senator said.

Hontiveros is also urging concerned government agencies to provide immediate social services to the affected residents, especially senior citizens and children.

Hontiveros hopes that the appropriate committee will hear the Resolution upon the resumption of Session.

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Note: Please see attached PSR No. 979 in PDF