CORON, Palawan — For more than a decade, 38 families of farmers in Coron, Palawan faced possible eviction from a disputed property awarded to beneficiaries whom peasant groups stressed are not the actual tillers.

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and Katipunan ng Samahan ng mga Magbubukid sa Timog Katagalugan (KASAMA-TK) said that the decades-long dispute over 887.76 hectares of agricultural land in Barangay Decalachao exposes the failure of agrarian reform programs.

The groups referred to the unresolved dispute involving the Philippine Agri-Business Center Corporation (PACECO) and the former Yulo King Ranch (YKR) where farmers organized under Alyansa ng Magsasaka at Mamamayan sa Yulo King Ranch (ALMMA-YKR) remain excluded from portions of the land they cultivate.

“From PD 27 to CARP, farmers have been promised land reform for decades, yet actual tillers remain excluded from the land they cultivate,” said Danilo Ramos, KMP chairperson, referring to Presidential Decree 27 and the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

According to KASAMA-TK, farmers began clearing and cultivating portions of the property in November 2009. The dispute affects 38 families or more than 200 people.

In 2014, 361 individuals were given Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) covering portions of the property. However, the group said that most of the beneficiaries were not the actual tillers occupying the land.

Some actual tillers were excluded from the awards while nine farmers received CLOAs containing technical descriptions that did not match the land they occupied. KASAMA-TK also reported that some beneficiaries who did not cultivate the property began selling their awarded land in 2016.

The farmers brought their complaints to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in 2020 and filed a petition for disqualification in 2021, seeking the cancellation of awards issued to allegedly unqualified beneficiaries.

The petition remains unresolved, according to a case briefer provided by the groups despite a 2022 directive for the local DAR office to report on the complaints.

Meanwhile, the farmers faced possible eviction and fabricated criminal charges for asserting their rights to the land.

For KMP and KASAMA-TK, the situation shows how agrarian reform can fail its intended beneficiaries when land distribution prioritizes the issuance of titles over the rights of those who cultivate the land.

Land monopoly

The conflict is rooted in the Marcos Sr. administration’s declaration of 40,000 hectares in Coron and Busuanga as the Busuanga Pasture Reserve in 1975 through Proclamation No. 1387.

The area was operated by Yulo King Ranch, owned by Marcos associate Luis Yulo. PACECO later claimed 887.76 hectares within the former ranch area.

Although the disputed property was placed under the CARP’s coverage in 1993 and a Notice of Coverage was issued, farmers alleged that the DAR office in Coron withheld the notice.

The subsequent distribution of land titles, which reportedly excluded actual tillers, has left the farmers contesting awards that they say failed to recognize their longstanding cultivation of the property.

Renato Batocabe of KASAMA-TK said the dispute reflects the failure of existing agrarian reform measures to resolve the fundamental problem of landlessness.

“PD 27 and CARP have failed to resolve the fundamental problem of landlessness. The farmers of Yulo King Ranch deserve justice, not more broken promises,” Batocabe said.

He said that distributing land titles to individuals who do not cultivate the land, while excluding the farmers who do, does not constitute genuine agrarian reform.

The groups’ criticism centers on the gap between the government’s land distribution policies and the conditions faced by landless farmers. Despite decades of agrarian reform initiatives, the PACECO dispute remains unresolved, leaving farming families uncertain about their access to the land they till.

Farmers demand action

KASAMA-TK called on the DAR to immediately resolve the pending petition, review the CLOAs issued to allegedly unqualified beneficiaries, and cancel awards found to have been improperly issued through due process.

It also demanded a relocation survey to establish the boundaries of the land cultivated by qualified farmers and ensure that awards correspond to the areas they actually till.

The group further called for an end to the alleged filing of fabricated criminal cases against ALMMA-YKR farmers and leaders.

In January 2026, 4,600 hectares of YKR land were reportedly transferred to the DAR, while 726 hectares were distributed to 727 farmers. However, KMP and KASAMA-TK said that these developments do not erase the decades of unresolved land claims or address the exclusion of actual tillers in the PACECO property.

The groups said that the dispute must be resolved as part of a broader struggle for genuine agrarian reform, one that transfers land to landless farmers, dismantles land monopoly, and protects cultivators from eviction.

For the farmers of ALMMA-YKR, the unresolved petition is not merely a dispute over land titles. It is a struggle to secure the land they have cultivated for years, amid a land reform system that has yet to guarantee their rights. (RTS, DAA)