The land use plan of the province of Cavite for 2010 confirms this. Section 15.2.1 (Land Use Issues) states that conversion of prime lots to urban and industrial uses has resulted in limited land devoted to agricultural production. Farmers also lament of the high cost of production while farm gate prices tend to be low especially during peak months of harvesting, thus making farming a less profitable economic activity. This is also one reason of the farmers to sell their land and shift to other sources of livelihood.
Jubillo said that even the DAR has influenced the farmers to abandon their lands and just demand higher disturbance compensation fees from the landowners or developers. This happened during the term of DAR Sec. Ernesto Garillao who, Jubillo said, had asked for amounts ranging from P500,000 to P1.5 million per hectare in disturbance compensation.

In Dasmariñas alone, the MARO said, 578.6228 were exempted while 24.6574 hectares were converted during Garilao’s term (1992 to 1998), affecting 337 farmers. As of July 2007, the total 603.2802 hectares affected during Garilao’s term is more than half of the total 1173.536 hectares exempted and converted in the province. Some 480 farmers will be affected.

High Court Approval

When reclassification or conversion cases are brought to the Supreme Court, these are generally decided in favor of the landowners and business interests.

Six cases decided the high court from June 2000 to March 2006 resulted in the conversion of some 5,308 hectares in Batangas, Rizal, Davao, Masbate, Laguna, and Cavite.

In Nasugbu, Batangas, 1,837 hectares were excluded from CARP when, in June 2000, the high court upheld earlier orders of two DAR secretaries that the landholdings have been reclassified as tourist zones and thus were beyond land reform coverage.

In Jala-jala, Rizal, 112 hectares were awarded to a private entity when, in October 2000, the high court upheld a decision of the Court of Appeals denying coverage by virtue of DAR Administrative Order No. 6, series of 1994, and DOJ Opinion No. 44.

In October 2005, in Aroroy, Masbate, 3,020 hectares were excluded from CARP when the high court ruled that DAR Administrative Order No. 9, series of 1993, is unconstitutional. The decision followed an earlier landmark decision (Luz Farms vs. DAR Secretary) excluding land holdings being used for livestock production from the scope of CARP.

In the Cavite and Laguna cases, the reclassification and subsequent exclusion of the land holdings in question was upheld by the high court. Bulatlat

This special report was produced under the 2007 Newsbreak Investigative Reporting Fellowship Program, a component of the Media, Democracy and Development Program of the United Nations Democracy Fund.

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