PILILLA, Rizal — After eight long years, the indigenous group who were shoved away from their ancestral domain by a private contractor masquerading as environmental stewards finally finds an ally in the Senate.
In an interview shortly after meeting local farmers, Senator Imee Marcos took a swipe at the memorandum of agreement signed by the late Environment Secretary Gina Lopez with a construction company, to whom the government “effectively ceded custody and authority over an area as big as Pasig City.”
“The MOA entered into by the DENR Secretary that time is void from the very start… saan ka ba naman kasi nakakita ng kontratang may perpetuity clause. Tapos wala man lang napapala ang gobyerno,” said the reelectionist senator.
She likewise cited the urgent need for the Department of Agriculture to extend a comprehensive assistance program that is “conducive to what they have been accustomed to.”
“The Dumagat-Remontados of Rizal are known for their knack in planting root crops… hence, the government assistance program should be centered on a complete cycle starting from cultivation, harvesting, processing, distribution and sales,” Sen. Marcos said in the vernacular.
But even before that, Marcos urged the “concerned government agencies” to ensure that the Rizal-based IP groups have a place to plant their crops.”
“Kasi from what I heard and read in the news, kasama yatang binakuran yung ancestral domain ng mga Dumagat-Remontados… meron din mga lehitimong magbubukid na pinalayas sa sariling taniman,” Marcos added.
The presidential sister, who authored a legislative bill — the Agrarian Emancipation Act, which effectively amended the outdated agrarian reform law, emphasized the urgency for the government to transfer emancipated agricultural land to the farmer beneficiaries, if only to prevent a similar incident from taking place in the future.
“Ito kasing agrarian reform law, ang tulong niyan is nakapagbigay tayo ng mga titulo, pero collective title na pag sinipat mo yung likod may nakatalang pagkakautang… mabuti na lang nagawan natin ng paraan yung tinatawag na condonation… wala na silang utang,” she further averred.
But still, Sen. Imee believes condonation isn’t enough – “tutulong na rin lang ang gobyerno, lubos-lubusin na para siguradong makakatayo sa sariling paa ang sektor ng agrikultura.”
She also urged the government to recalibrate its food security strategy. “Paunlarin muna natin ang local agri sector. Pag nagawa natin yan, hindi na natin kailangan umangkat sa ibang bansa…. Ang pinapayaman kasi natin yung agri sector sa mga karatig bansa natin sa Asya.”