Photo credit: Rene Lumawag
Back Story
In the late
nineties, 839 hectares have been covered by the Dept of Agrarian Reform’s
(DAR’s) Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) & given to farmer
beneficiaries with some retention in terms of hectarage to the original owners
(Fernandez Hermanos Corporation).
At that
time, since lands acquired thru Agrarian Reform may not be sold or transferred
or conveyed for a period of ten years, the farmers have formed into a
cooperative & leased such lands to a Malaysian corporation (EKRAN BERHAD)
which has developed such tract of land into a resort estate in partnership with
the Department of Tourism (DOT).
A casino
resort complex is in place except that it has ceased operation.
Earlier on,
one of the first steps taken was to declare the land unfit for agriculture even
if, ironically, the farmers have been tilling the land since time immemorial.
The awarded
land now belongs to the SLS (San Remegio, Libertad, San Isidro) cooperative.
At the
start, it was a common - ownership & so each beneficiary then could not
claim title to a specific area. But, now, some have sold their areas of
occupancy. These areas of occupancy which were sold out have had lot -
technical - descriptions & segregated from the larger undivided common
area.
During the
stage of resort construction, many of the farmers were employed as construction
workers & when the resort was done, farmers found themselves unemployed
& with no land to till. The beneficiaries’ share of the lease payments from
EKRAN BERHAD has been spent a long time ago. Over the years, this Malaysian
corporation has not paid taxes to the Island Garden City of Samal.
An Imagined
Future for the SLS Community
Security
issues beset the community now.
Non -
beneficiaries have occupied some areas not their own.
Still, there
is a humane process of ejection: notice & hearing and more.
And yes,
there are laws & Cooperative Rules that must be followed.
Making the
SLS community productive will need finance which can be outsourced from both
the public & the private sector.
The Agrarian
Reform (AR) beneficiaries will also need
technical assistance for their projects.
The 839
hectares less the retention of the original owners can be turned into many
projects: a district hospital, housing, farms. After all, the community has
formed into a cooperative.
Also - the
LGU needs to collect taxes from Malaysia's Ekran Berhad – an added income for the
city. The Samal LGU may use some of its 20% development fund from its 1.3 billion budget
this year for touristic projects in this community.
Most of all, the SLS community itself does not lack imagination on how to turn
their dreams into reality with the help of the Samal Island Local Government Unit
& private investors.
~ with
Incoming Mayor Toto
Reyes
Kay
Antonio
SLS Coop
Chair, Presie
Negro, Atty - in - Fact, Helen
S. Perez
Kgwad
Gen Rockvoy, SamalBorn
Shamo
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