Dwayne Pelagio

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has been urged by an Indigenous People’s (IP) group to give back a 10,821-hectare land in Balabac, Palawan through its agrarian reform program on Tuesday.

Photo Courtesy of Facebook/Sambilog-Balik Bugsuk Movement/Daily Tribune.

The IP group Sambilog-Balik Bugsuk Movement, continues the 50-year fight to reclaim their ancestral land rights from the government.

They were allegedly displaced during the Martial Law in 1974, when the piece of land on Bugsuk Island was transferred to Marcos crony and Business tycoon Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco.

“We call on President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. to correct this injustice by reversing the decision of Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Conrado Estrella III to lift the land from Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER) coverage and to expedite its distribution to the rightful claimants,” the group said, together with their legal counsel Atty. Christian Monsod, and supporting non-government organizations in a press release. 

The group also urged the government to issue a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) for the 56,000 hectares encompassing the island and its surrounding areas to be protected under the Indigenous People’s Rights Act.

“We demand that the government take swift action to end this exploitation and secure the land for the people who have lived there for generations,” they added.

The group also encouraged the Filipinos to join them in a “struggle for transitional justice and to stand in righting a historic wrong and ensuring that the IP’s of Balabac reclaim their lands.”

‘Another danger looms’

The Sambilog-Balik Bugsuk Movement also expressed their concerns over Maria Hangin, an island near Bugsuk where residents are fearing another displacement because of a planned ecotourism development project.

Sambilog chairperson Romillano Calo also called his fellow Filipinos to stand with them in this “historic fight for justice.”

Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA) president Randy Cirio cited that the issue extends beyond land rights to encompass justice and the rectification of a historical wrong, calling on Filipinos to support the indigenous peoples of Balabac.

The group calls for a boycott of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) products as they accused the company for being the mastermind behind the plans to develop Maria Hangin Island into a tourist enclave, a claim that the company had denied in previous statements to Palawan News Inquiry.