Bukidnon farmers to DAR: Stop delaying CARP implementation; secure land rights now!
- Media Communications
- Jul 3
- 3 min read
Don Carlos, Bukidnon — Don Carlos Bukidnon United Farmers Association, Inc. (DCBUFAI), Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), BARUG Villanueva Farmers Group, Sanlakas, and other organizations held a protest rally at the Department for Agrarian Reform (DAR) Regional Office X in Cagayan De Oro, in support of the farmers’ decades-long fight for land rights. Simultaneously, a dialogue was conducted between DCBUFAI and DAR.
A press conference was also conducted, led by DCBUFAI and PMCJ, after the dialogue. DCBUFAI and its allied organizations, PMCJ, Sanlakas, and Makabayan Pilipinas, urgently called on DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III to intervene and resolve the decades-long issue immediately.
Despite repeated revalidations and dialogues, the farmers’ Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) remains unissued. “Thirty-three years after the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), members of the DCBUFAI continue to fight for ownership of the land they have tilled for decades. The farmers have been putting the spotlight on the DAR Region X Office for several years due to the delay in processing their claims,” PMCJ Mindanao Coordinator Rara Ada said.
In August 2024, a dialogue was held between farmers and DAR officials at the DAR Central Office, during which the former demanded the expedited release of their CLOA. Almost a year later, despite multiple follow-ups and revalidations, the farmers have yet to receive formal recognition of their land rights.
"Sa pila ka decada nga kami nag paningkamot nga ma amoa na ang among yuta nga gi uma, na hadlok na kami nga di na namo ma abtan na, nga mamatay na lang mi sa hinulata," DCBUFAI President Jovencio Destor, Jr. said. [In the decades we have strived to claim the land we have tilled as our own, we have become afraid that we will never see it become ours, that we will die waiting in vain.]
The group is claiming 109 hectares of land formerly part of Bukidnon Farms Inc. (BFI), a property previously owned by the late Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr. and turned over to the government in 1986 for agrarian reform. A national dialogue in 2012 at the DAR Central Office promised to finalize the farmers’ revalidation by 2013, but no outcome has been reported since.
“Last 2016, Mindanao was severely hit by drought. Many landless farmers and displaced indigenous peoples were affected, resulting in a general hunger situation in Bukidnon and North Cotabato. Owning these lands enables their chances of survival in this climate crisis. Our farmers are vital to our goal of food security in the country. We cannot keep inflicting on them policies and systems that force them into poverty. It is not only cruel, but it also does not serve our national interests,” PMCJ National Coordinator Ian Rivera said.
June 30, 2025, marked President Bongbong Marcos, Jr. (PBBM)’s third year in office. He will give his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the end of this month. In his last SONA, he said that land reform will continue along with the distribution of land titles to farmers. However, this is not true for most farmers, as seen in the DCBUFAI case.
“A country that cannot feed itself cannot progress. We call for an overhaul of our land redistribution system to prioritize the needs of farmers and agricultural workers—no more delays. Award the farmers of Bukidnon their land now!” Rivera stressed. ###
For Mindanao-based media, contact:
Pat Pangantihon
Policy and Communications Officer-Mindanao
Philippine Movement for Climate Justice
For Metro Manila-based media, contact:
Sheila Abarra
Senior Media and Communications Officer
Philippine Movement for Climate Justice
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