Notwithstanding the tremendous progress made in the Bondoc Peninsula’s land redistribution and the agrarian justice system’s reform to decriminalize peasants asserting their right to land, tenants continue to be the target of criminal actions brought by individuals claiming ownership of public lands.

Last October 3, Ronnie Banquiles, 50 years old, and his wife, Marivic Banquiles, 46 years old, were arrested by law enforcers of San Narciso for qualified theft of coconut in violation of Articles 308 and 310 of the Revised Penal Code.

According to the information obtained by KATARUNGAN, the accused spouses “willfully, unlawfully and feloniously, with intent to gain, harvested, take away coconuts at the coconut plantation, without the owners of the property, to the damage and prejudice of the heirs of Teodula Medenilla in the amount of P2,732.00” (€47.3169), The bail for temporary release is set at P40,000 each, or a total of P80,000 (€1,559).

Ronnie and Marivic Banquiles argued that they inherited the land from their ancestors, who have been tilling for more than 50 years and relied mostly on the harvest of coconuts for their livelihood. They also claimed that the criminal case brought against them is a kind of harassment used to coerce them into giving up their land ownership. Moreover, the spouse asserted that the claimant’s ownership is highly questionable, with certifications from the Community Environment and Natural Resources (CENRO) attesting that the land is not private property, as well as the recent decision of the Court of Appeals.

This case, however, is not an isolated one, and it may be an indication that criminalization is on the rise all over the Bondoc Peninsula, as it has been an agrarian hotspot since the mid-1990s, where landless tenants have fought for land, justice, and food sovereignty while being confronted with various types of criminalization, harassment, and intimidation, frequently at the cost of their own lives.

Kilusan para sa Repormang Agraryo at Katarungang Panlipunan (KATARUNGAN) demands the Office of the President and the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to immediately take steps for the urgent release of Ronnie and Marivic Banquiles. We also demand the government to assert its authority over timberlands by fast-tracking the processing and approval of CBFMP applications to secure farmer-occupants tenure. Lastly, we encourage the government to refile the case for the cancellation of titles of timberlands in Mulanay and other areas.

The Kilusan para sa Repormang Agraryo at Katarungang Panlipunan (KATARUNGAN) is an organization devoted to the promotion of the interest and welfare of farmers, farm workers, upland settlers, indigenous peoples, and other peoples working in the rural areas. One of our main agendas is the just and meaningful implementation of agrarian reform in both private and public lands.

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