FOUR Palaw’an Indigenous Leaders from Brgy. Ransang in the town of Rizal, south of Palawan hit back Lionheart Agrotech Farm for editing their interviews for the “More With Less” documentary posted in social media, which attacks Non-Government Organizations like Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC) over the issue of coconut plantation that they claim destroys the natural forest in their own ancestral land, plus violating their sacred rules as rightful owners of the land.
In a press conference held today at Bulwagang Princesa, President Dina Pascual of Kalipunan Y Palaw’an slams Lionheart of misrepresentation for the said docu, an environmentalist contacted her for an interview regarding the destroyed forest in Rizal, and only during the actual day of shoot they find out that she is an employee of the farm with the name “Manga Blas”, she still agreed for the shoot with the condition they will not edit her statement.
But to her dismay, Pascual was surprised with the posted documentary in Youtube, all her statement was cut along with other tribal leaders who gave permission to be interviewed.
“May tumawag sa akin na babae ang sabi niya environmentalist siya, interview-hin niya ako patungkol sa nasirang kagubatan sa boung Rizal, hindi niya sinabi yung tatlong barangay, sa buong rizal, natuwa naman ako kasi siyempre IP coordinator ako, alam ko yung buong problema ng buong rizal,” Pascual said.
The said leaders also defended ELAC, they announced that the said NGO is only helping them especially they are IPs who admittedly are lack of education in their rights and in law, ELAC to them is answered partner due to the many reasons they discovered, that the Lionheart violated many rules of their agreement and NGOs like ELAC didn’t deserve all the blame.
“Kulang kami ng technical, legal, ultimo mga sentence hindi kayang elaborate ng maayos, yung mga katwiran, humingi kami ng tulong para paano namin labanan ang katiwalian ng Lionheart , at ang pakikipag sabwatan nila sa ilang ahensya ng gobyerno, ‘wag pong sisihin ang NGos, NGOS po ay katuwang ng pamahalaan para sa kaunlaran, hindi po sila kalaban,” Pascual added.
FAKE PANGLIMA Lionheart start its coconut planting in Rizal in the year 2015 but only during this pandemic series of controversies sparked that is being raised by the IP leaders against its operators. First thing that Pascual’s group is complaining is the process implemented by the farm to get their approval, they claimed that the farm planted fake leaders and it was not legally or authorize since it is appointed only by the Farm management, many of them don’t even have a blood line of being Panglima or tribal chieftain.
“Yung panglima po nila ay hindi totoong panglima, sila po ay nagpapanggap na panglima lamang, ibang barangay po sila, yun po ang totoo, yung mga panglima na nag aangkin ng panglima dapat po hindi sila ang manguna, ang dapat manguna yung mga totoong traditional leader,” Indigenous People’s Mandatory Representative of Brgy. Candawaga Godolito Delos Santos, Jr said.
The farm is only leasing the land from the IP’s to be planted with coconut, each land owners according to their agreement will only receive P35,000 cash annually, but on the contract they ask to sign with Lionheart, there is no specific details of land area cover, and there is no assurance that they still own the land after 25 years of lease agreement.
“Hindi namin pinapaalis ang Lion Heart, tinanong na kami ng NCIP Commision En Banc ang sinabi naming ayusin lang lahat yung mali, unang una yung pag-di-dilineate o pagsusukat ng aming lupa, para ma-identify kung sino ang nag-parenta at sino yung hindi, yung nagparenta sabi ni Kagawad my technical description, para after 25 years kilala nya ang lupa nya alam nya ang hitsura,” Pascual explain.
TREE CUTTING AND PEELING Pascual’s group already reported the massive illegal cutting of trees in many areas of Ransang, based on their personal assessment there are over 100 trees were cut to give way for the planting of coconuts that needs open space, there are also 1000 trees that were peeled off in order to die naturally.
They claimed that the people behind these activities are staff or employees of Lionheart, they can prove it and they have witnesses that will attest and this was properly documented by DENR and CENRO who already conducted investigation previously, around 20,000 hectares already as per estimate that have the said scenarios in Ransang.
Charlie Cudog, a Palaw’an from Ransang said most of these trees are century old and were not part of second growth that sprout after a forest fire hit Rizal many years ago.
“Kung tinatanggi ni Christian Moeller na hindi company ang naninira, andyan na po ang witness, sino ang nagtatanim ng niyog, hindi ba lionheart? Yan na po ang patunay sa hinahawakan naming dokumento,” Cudog said.
The group also said that there are non-IP’s who are intruding in their lands, many of them are hired by Lionheart to act as middlemen that offer them to rent their land for the said farm.
CASES VS LION HEART The team of Pascual reiterated that they don’t want to abolish or remove Lionheart from Rizal, her group just wanted to correct those practices that the farm implemented which they feel violated their rights and sacred rules.
For now, they only filed complains through National Commission on Indigenous Peoples regarding the violations on the Joint Venture Agreement concerning the fake Panglimas and other consensus gathering that get their approval, and through Department of Environment and Natural Resources for some illegal tree cutting and peeling activities, the result of the investigation is being awaited by the said leaders.
“Hindi naman kami anti-development, sinong ayaw umunlad, sinong ayaw na magkaroon ng magandang bahay at makapag pa-aral ng mga anak, pero ang kaunlaran mag uumpisa sa intelektwal na yung pag-desisyon ng tama,” Pascual said.
Palawan Daily already contacted Lionheart for their side of the story, and still waiting for their reply.