Farmers protest fencing of disputed land

CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro — Members of the Samahan ng Magsasaka sa Guinobatan (SMG) were caught by surprise when a fence was built around a disputed piece of land here in Barangay Guinobatan on Thursday.

ENCLOSED A fence made of galvanized iron sheets was put up on a disputed land in Barangay Guinobatan, Calapan City, on March 27, 2025. PHOTO BY IRE JOE V.C. LAURENTE

Fely Macalalad, president of the Samahan ng Magsasaka sa Guinobatan, told The Manila Times that they were not informed of the fencing and that they are still awaiting the decision of their appeal before the Municipal Trial Courts in Cities (MTCC).

"We were caught by surprise. We have an order from the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor that allows us to remain in our respective residences while waiting for the other appeals that we have submitted," Macalalad said in Filipino.

The SMG, which has 108 members, is contesting that the 158 hectares of land in Barangay Guinobatan, where the Calapan City Hall is also presently located, was awarded to them through the government's agrarian reform program in 1998.

Some of the SMG members have in their possession certificates of land ownership award (CLOA).

However, the new owner, Menako Construction Corp., argued that the land was converted from agricultural to commercial also in 1998 and was no longer subject to agrarian reform.

"Technically, the land has multiple title holders, as each tenant has our own respective CLOA," said Edith Mendoza, a member of the SMG.

"We are just wondering how Menako was able to get a title while the Department of Agrarian Reform had already distributed to us our individual titles."

The farmers staged a prayer vigil on March 28 in front of the city hall to protest the fencing and ask local leaders to look into their plight.

The case, however, reached the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of Menako in 2013. It also said the company still needs to comply with the requisites and processes before it can seek police assistance for the actual demolition.

Mayor Malou Morillo had talked to representatives of Menako on Friday and asked the company not to demolish the homes of the farmers inside the disputed lot.

She also asked the company to give the farmers access to their homes.

Menako, meanwhile, said it fenced the property to prevent outsiders from coming in and building structures in the area.