This Land Is Mine!

              A popular old song begins with these words, "This land is mine. God gave this land to me." The context was the importance of land to the people of Israel. God gave them a promise that they will be His people, and He will be their God. Part of this covenant between Israel and God was their land. The land was the symbol of their being nation. It was their life and faith. This can partly explain the on-going war between the Arabs and the Israelites. The conquering of lands was not just about losing or gaining a property but more importantly, losing or gaining an identity as a people and a nation. That also makes the the situation of the "wandering Jews" very pathetic and sad. The Jews are however not without hope. They know that their messiah (they do not recognize Jesus as The Messiah, the way Catholic Christians do.) would be coming to save them.

Last week, I was involved in two similar cases of land ownership. The first involved the Marikina Watershed project in San Josef, Antipolo. There was a bill passed by Rep. Rodriguez to make alienable and disposable part of the protected area. The land would be given to the people affected. The archdiocese of Manila, in partnership with the C.A.R.E. Foundation, had adopted the land in order to rejuvenate it. It is the only surviving forest cover that protects the La Mesa Dam which supplies most of the water in Metro Manila. We believe that the disposition of the land would further aggravate the now critical situation of the mountain. The bill mentioned of the impending project by the government in the area which will in turn affect the lives of the people. As a solution, the congresswoman elected to distribute the land to the people. Although this will still be debated on the floor, our hope is that the lawmakers will consider the situation in both the short and long term bases.

However, there was also another problem. A private individual had laid his claim on the property. The last time church people came to plant trees there, they were welcomed by a "No Entry" sign. They were told that they were doing activities in a private property. DENR's records show nothing as to their ownership of the place. Further investigation of the place revealed that treasure hunting and mining activities had already commenced in different places of the mountain. DENR will investigate and rule on the matter as soon as the facts are established.

This morning, our guest in the "Barangay Simbayanan" radio program over Radio Veritas was "Mang Ruperto", the spokesperson of the Calatagan farmers. Their case was very similar to the Sumilao farmers. Suddenly, out of the blue, a company was laying claim to the property. Because of the failure of the Register of Deeds to annotate the title of the land which was granted to them by virtue of PD 27 (during the time of President Marcos), it was resold to a private company. The farmers were questioned regarding what they had done with the land. Pd 27 had a restriction of using land for rice and corn only. However, Mang Ruperto said that PD 6657 (CARP) would also cover it for them. Unfortunately, DENR had issued a certification that the land was a mining area. DAR, by virtue of CARP, could not rule in favor of the farmers because of this certificate. Further, the Supreme Court had made a ruling regarding its status as a mineral deposit area. Mang Ruperto, in a discussion with Sec. Atienza, said that they would not stop until they get justice. He could not imagine how things had been reversed. They are not considering appealing to the president for swift justice.

It is unfortunate that these things are happening to our farmers, indigenous people and rural folks. Instead of being supported, it seems that they are being taken advantage. The Second National Rural Congress being done by the CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines), presently on going, seeks to consult the people from the barrios and hear their experiences. It came at the proper time so that farmers would be able to share what are being done to them. The first congress of the same nature was able to make concrete actions before. An sure, the bishops will make certain that more deliberate and meaningful actions would be done now. We just hope that all the facts that will be accumulated truly reflect the life of the rural folks. It is also our hope that people of authority would constantly support our rural folks. They have to realize that their welfare is also our welfare. Their downfall is also our downfall. This was stressed by the CBCP in their move to finally involve the urban people by asking their logistical and spiritual support. We are all in this. Let us all help!    

                           (for more information  please visit, http://www.simbahanglingkod.multiply.com/journal/item/105/)