(First of two parts)

By RJ Ledesma/Paghimutad

Local officials claim the palm oil operation is a “blessing”. But the indigenous peoples and farmers cry foul over the company’s deceptive tactics that they claim robs them of land and life.

In this two-part story, Paghimutad investigates the social and environmental costs of the controversial 6,000-hectare palm oil plantation owned by construction firm Consunji in Candoni town of Negros Occidental.

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NEGROS – Candoni town Mayor Ray Ruiz describes the contested PhP2billion palm oil plantation project as “a shining gift from the sky.”

“For forty years, no one had an interest in the land. But then a billionaire came to me one day and told me, ‘Mayor, I will go to your town and turn the ground green. I will create something that will generate huge income,’” the mayor said in a dialogue with church people, environmental groups, and media on August 14 in his office.

Ruiz is referring to Isidro Consunji, whose family ranks fifth in the 2024 Forbes’ Richest Filipino list. The Consunji family is known to have amassed wealth from operations of the construction and property development firm DMCI Holdings.

In 2023, Jose Araneta’s Hacienda Asia Plantation Inc. (HAPI Inc.) sealed a Php2-billion joint-venture agreement with Consunji family’s Sirawai Plywood and Lumber Corporation to develop a palm oil plantation in the 6,652-hectare forest land located in Brgy. Agboy and Gatuslao, Candoni town.

The Consunjis are now diversifying into agro-industrial mega-projects in the Visayas and Mindanao, particularly palm oil. It is also in the larger framework of the Department of Agriculture’s goal of a whopping 117,313 hectares expansion of palm oil by 2033.

But Candoni residents do not share their mayor’s excitement.

In May this year, Candoni residents, former plantation laborers, and farmers held protest actions opposing the palm oil plantation.

Bulldozing activities started that month in at least a thousand hectares, affecting cultivated lands and sparking fears of potential displacement.

An estimated 1,000 families will be affected by the operations, according to local farmer groups. Out of the 6,652 hectares targeted for the plantation, 4,000 are part of the ancestral domain of the Magahat and Bukidnon tribes.

“How could you say there is oppression, when you don’t even have legal identity [over] those properties?” Ruiz asked.

Locals said that at least 80 percent of Candoni residents belong to indigenous communities. But most of them are not formal recognized as such by the local government or the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). Their claim to the ancestral land were passed on to them from generation to generation.

“The Consunjis did not come here to oppress the people. The purpose is not to take away your land, they are here to help,” Mayor Ruiz claimed.

He further said that the plantation could elevate their fourth-class municipality to first-class status because of the potentially hefty tax revenues from the plantation.

“Doesn’t that all sound wonderful?” he added, excitedly.

Abundance of timber

The municipality of Candoni was once known as the Tabla Settlement Valley, named after the abundance of ‘tablas”, or Spanish for timber, in the forested area.

The expansion of the Insular Lumber Corporation (ILCO), an American logging company, in Candoni during the 1970s, facilitated by then-President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., resulted in massive deforestation.

The logging company was legally permitted to cut down trees throughout the island to meet the lumber needs of a growing US market.

Once the trees were depleted, settlers began to cultivate the barren land for their own consumption.

Farmers were the first ones to attempt to apply to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for an Integrated Forest Management Agreement (IFMA) to manage the public land, restore the forest, and secure their homes and livelihoods.

The IFMA, granted by the DENR, allows a qualified entity to manage and utilize forest lands for up to 50 years, provided they adhere to “sustainable development principles”.

The DENR instead awarded the IFMA to local landlord and former Bacolod City congressman, lawyer Juan Orola, in 2009. The rights to the land was later sold and transferred to Alfred Joseph Araneta’s HAPI Inc. for Php10,500,000 because of Orola’s declining health. 

Despite plans for a diverse agricultural plantation, including crops like mangoes and bananas, the focus shifted solely to palm oil production, but Araneta could not find any investors for it.

Conflict in payment terms arose between the Orola and Araneta, the former accusing the latter of issuing bouncing checks. 

The DENR itself even advocated for the cancellation of the IFMA in 2018 due to ongoing non-compliance with the IFMA’s terms. 

The Sangguniang Bayan of Candoni and Barangay Gatuslao also passed additional resolutions in 2021 requesting the cancellation of the IFMA, on the premise of Araneta’s failure to develop the area since 2011.

Now, with the Consunjis’ entry in 2023, environmental groups Group of Environmental Socialists (GOES) Inc. and Green Alert Network (GAN) confirmed from the Environmental Monitoring Bureau (EMB) that the project does not have an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) as of October 1 this year.

On October 8, Gatuslao Agro-Forestry, Banana, and Sugarcane Farmers’ Association (GABASFA) also asked Provincial Environment and Natural Resources (PENRO) office in Kabankalan for the Comprehensive Development and Management Plan (CDMP). As of this writing, they have yet to receive a copy. 

Both of these documents, the ECC and CDMP, are required before any operations could take place.

According to farmer support NGO Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Group (PDG Inc), large areas of forest and mountain ranges, including native trees like Lawaan, Kobe, and Kamagong, are threatened. Two critical watershed areas are also at risk of contamination, possibly affecting the water supply of the entire town of Candoni.

Government officials, meanwhile, continue to insist that the project has minimal adverse effects on the environment. Candoni’s municipal agriculturist, Eduardo Florendo, for one, said he supports the project.

“I was one of the local officials who first lobbied for the cancellation of the IFMA, but after learning more about what the Consunji’s plan to do in our town, I was very impressed,” Florendo said.

In 2023, the Consunji group invited him and other Candoni officials to an exposure trip to a palm oil plantation in Sirawai, Zamboanga del Norte, where they were assured that modern, non-toxic agricultural practices would be used.

Initial groundwork and palm oil seedling planting began in March 2023. A nursery for the seedlings, which has been operational for nearly two years, is located in Brgy. Gatuslao, which houses 870,000 palm oil seedlings.

HAPI Inc. has already completed extensive terracing of over 1,000 hectares in the IFMA area. Locals reported that the terracing has led to soil erosion and the drying up of rivers, affecting nearby flora and fauna.

Sixty-three-year-old farmer Eno “Jess” Dioscoro, whose has lived in the area since 1955, said he has witnessed the gradual decay of the Bagatbat River, which passes through Basay and Bayawan in Negros Oriental. “Mga sili, ulang, taywan, banag, mga pasayan nga dagku ah,” (Before, there were eels, freshwater prawn, and big shrimp here) he said. 

Now, the rivers are murky and lifeless, Jess added. He said some tributaries even disappeared.

Migration wave

Like most Candoni locals, Jess’ family was part of the wave of migrants from Capiz, Panay in the post-war years. His father was among the early settlers who used the deforested land for agriculture through kaingin.

Their way of life was simple then, he said, and yet their connection to the land was deep. They planted rice, corn, and other crops for consumption. Any surplus products were sold for additional household needs.

“Sang una mayu gid ya kay hilway ka. Nag-ano lang na sang una atong kinagamo bangud sa thunderbolt, (Before, it was just peaceful. It was only disrupted because of Thunderbolt)” Jess said.

He referred to a military operation called the Operation Thunderbolt. During the late 1980s, President Corazon Aquino’s administration launched aerial bombardment operations in the Candoni, Hinoba-an, Ilog, Cauayan, Kabankalan, and Sipalay (CHICKS) area to quell insurgency from communist rebels, which resulted in widespread dislocation of communities and the declaration of the area as a “no man’s land”. After the bombings ceased, the communities eventually came back to the area.

Jess said there is a new wave of fear and insecurity in the area about their future because of the plantation. Jess’ land is a kilometer away from the land cleared by HAPI Inc., and is still within the 6,000-hectare IFMA to be developed.

He was also among the 50 farmers who attended initial meetings with the DENR, Mayor Ruiz, and plantation representatives. Jess and the other farmers expressed concern about their cultivated areas when operations start.

“Amo na nga ginhambal nila nga tanan nga may mga tanum indi matandog kay tungod nga may tanum na. Ang wala sang tanum amo lang na ang ila nga ubrahon, (“They promised that all areas with crops would be untouched. The only areas that would be worked on were those without crops.”)” Jess recalled the plantation representatives saying.

“Dasun ang ila pagid da gina promise sa mga tawo to antis sila magsugod, ubrahon nila una ang dalan tapos patindog sila eskwelahan tapos ospital. Amo tong ila hambal. Ti daw nagsuli bala. Gin una nila ang ila project tapos ang ila nga ginpromisa to wala to ya nagtupa. Ang dalan subong imbis nga kay-uhon nila daw ginaguba pa gani, Jess adds. (“They also promised that before starting, they would fix the roads, build schools, and establish a hospital. But it seems like they prioritized the project and they did not fulfill their promises. The road, instead of being repaired, is actually being damaged [due to their operations],” he recalled further.

Convincing farmers

Eduardo Nabilla, a former employee of HAPI Inc., initially served as a local guard before becoming a Community Relations Officer for the plantation company. It was his job to convince farmers to consent to the plantation, often through these attractive promises.

He and his family have been living on and cultivating 20 hectares of ancestral land for over 50 years.“Bisan sin-o man, maakit sang ila mga promisa, (Anyone would be attracted to their promises)” he said. 

Eduardo’s role shifted from security to community relations after just two weeks.

He tried to persuade local residents to “donate” their land to the palm oil plantation, in exchange for the “benefits” that the plantation is supposed to bring to the town. By “donating” their land, Eduardo admitted that this was really a forced surrender of land.

He claimed that he already helped acquire 1,000 hectares from local communities.

Paghimutad obtained a copy of the Agreement of Undertaking that farmers and indigenous peoples are made to sign. The agreement grants HAPI INC. the right to relocate the farmers or residents from the lands they occupy or cultivate within the IFMA area.

Despite allegedly giving permission to farmers to use a certain portion of their current land for agriculture, this is still under the regulation of HAPI Inc. The agreement also allowed for the installation of gates around the IFMA, possibly controlling entry and exit in the area.

These provisions, among others, have sparked protests from Southern Negros group Defend Patrimony. The group slammed the plantation for taking advantage of poor farmers—many of whom are illiterate—to sign the said document.

“If their intentions were genuine, why do they need to lie?” Roman Aguilar of Defend Patrimony said.

The effects of Candoni’s palm oil plantation will be discussed in the second part of the series.