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But in the guerrilla zones of Davao Oriental, the cruel system of prenda arendo is slowly being eradicated. The following article relates one of the first cases reported in the Southern Mindanao mass paper Pasa Bilis. These initial victories gave the organized masses the confidence to further advance the campaign to eradicate prenda arendo. The campaign to recover lands covered by prenda arendo began in early 1999 in a barrio in the Davao Oriental countryside. Farmers confronted seven landlords to take back their mortgaged land. The campaign was led by the Barrio Organizing Committee and the local Party branch. In 1999, Mang Ador, an organized peasant, turned to the local Party branch for help regarding his land problem. Mang Ador said that he had borrowed P12,000 from Konsehala Nida, a barangay official and small landlord, for his mother's burial expenses. In exchange, Konsehala Nida took possession of Mang Ador's land. She was to receive all the income from 24 harvests before returning the land. The Party branch studied the case. The members saw that at the price of P14 per kilo of copra then prevailing, and at the rate of 600 kilos of copra produced every harvest, the landlord had practically recovered the principal of P12,000 she had lent Mang Ador with the first two harvests, after subtracting production expenses. Nonetheless, because of the exploitative prenda arendo system, the landlord would continue benefiting from the land for another 22 harvests. By the time Mang Ador presented his problem to the Party branch, Konsehala Nida had already been holding his land for four years. At the average of P13 per kilo of copra prevailing in this period, Konsehala Nida had already earned P117,000 from Mang Ador's coconut farm. It turns out that 875% in interest had been paid on top of the original P12,000 loan! The peasants decided to confront the landlord. Twenty farmers trooped to Konsehala Nida's house, one morning in November 1999. Five of them were members of the Barrio Organizing Committeee and one was a member of the local Party branch. The peasants demanded the return of Mang Ador's land. Right in front of Konsehala Nida, they made computations that showed the huge amount she had earned while in possession of the land. The landlord fell back and sat on her sofa, clutching her chest, and appeared to have fainted. But this failed to move the farmers, who knew that Konsehala Nida had a penchant for theatrics. When she finally "regained consciousness," the peasants were still around, waiting for her reply. She was left with no choice but to return Mang Ador's land. But she asked to be allowed to produce copra one last time before returning the land. There was only one more week to go before the next copra production season. Mang Ador consented, on condition that they clean his coconut farm before turning it over to him. Konsehala Nida's husband, who actually did the copra production, readily agreed. The confrontation was a success. Since then, mass movements have often been waged to recover lands subjected to prenda arendo. Eventually, landlords voluntarily returned the lands mortgaged to them, even before the peasants could confront them. 
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