In the municipality of Amai Manabilang (formerly Bumbaran) in Lanao del Sur, large-scale and violent land grabbing now affects Moro, Lumad, and settler farmers. The successive Duterte and Marcos regimes, the local Manabilang dynasty, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines have all conspired to evict residents and use their lands for foreign multinational companies.

The reactionary state uses the Southern Philippines Development Authority (SPDA), a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) under the office of the president, as an instrument for land grabbing. The SPDA, established as early as 1975, received the right of “eminent domain.” This means the SPDA holds legal authority to expropriate private lands for “public use.” The agency has the power to award seized lands to any favored local or foreign corporation.

Development for foreigners

Initially, the SPDA forcibly claimed 26,000 hectares in Lanao del Sur and placed them under the Agro-Industrial Development Program (AIDP), a “special agro-economic zone” allegedly meant to develop the province’s backward economy. The AIDP covers an area previously under the Kapatiran Agro-Industrial Development Cooperative, a “cooperative” used by the Marcos dictatorship to subdue Moro National Liberation Front fighters. Of this, 16,000 hectares are located in Wao and 10,000 in Amai Manabilang. This “special economic zone” provides foreign companies many incentives, such as exemption from income tax, VAT, and tariffs on imported materials. It also grants discounts on rent, electricity, and water.

Since 2020, the SPDA has allowed at least five large companies into the “special agricultural zone.”

The largest is American company EcoPlanet Bamboo which the SPDA granted an initial 8,360 hectares spanning 10 barangays bordering Amai Manabilang and Talakag, Bukidnon. At present, about 2,000 hectares already grow commercial bamboo. The company plans to plant a total of 100,000 trees, at a rate of 500 trees per hectare.

EcoPlanet Bamboo markets its bamboo plantation as an “environmental project” that will revive denuded forests. But in other parts of the world, the project and the company itself have proven to be a “scam.” The company’s ownership is dubious as it is mired in debt, and its promises of jobs, development, and environmental protection are deceptive.

Another land grabber is the Asia-Pacific Precision Agriculture Group, also an American company. It took over 2,000 hectares and planted corn using advanced technology, thus created no new jobs. The company destroyed nearby forests to build roads for easier access of production machines and vehicles.

The SPDA also awarded land to Kennemer Foods International and Sumifru. Kennemer is a Philippine company funded by a Dutch bank and supplies cocoa to Mars Inc, another American company. Meanwhile, Japanese company Sumifru produces bananas for markets in Japan, Thailand, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia. Sumifru now “rents” lands at a rate of ₱25,000 per year or ₱2,038 per month.

Other foreign companies set to enter include Nestle (coffee), RNF Industries Corporation (avocado), and other exporters.

Violent evictions

The SPDA’s claim that AIDP lands are vacant or “denuded forests” a lie. Most of these lands have long been occupied and tilled by Moro, Lumad, and settler farmers. A large portion consists of ancestral lands belonging to the Maranao and Higaonon.

The SPDA exploits the lack of legal proof of ownership among Moro, Lumad, and settlers to seize their lands. The agency demolished homes and bulldozed farms, including hectares of sugarcane, vegetable, and corn fields. Violent demolitions and evictions took place with the help of soldiers, police, as well as elements from the CAFGU, MILF, and the Manabilang family’s private army.

Some families lost up to 30 hectares of farmland, including vegetable farmers growing carrots, cabbage, potatoes, and more. Many refused to relocate to sites which offered each family only 40 square meters of land. Those who pleaded to stay on their farms received only a quarter of a hectare.

Some evicted farmers now work in Sumifru’s plantations where they are paid very low and often delayed wages. They receive no benefits or job security.

EcoPlanet planted bamboo on farms that still had standing crops. Company personnel even planted seeds right up to the gates of homes. Others were forced to “donate” their land to the company.

In all of this, the Manabilang family, which dominates the local government, is complicit. They made an example by arresting those who refused to leave, imprisoning them, and imposing high bail to threaten those who resisted. The Manabilang family rules through terror. They are notorious for the massacre of 17 Ilonggo settlers in 2014.

Nevertheless, some remain committed and uprooted newly planted bamboo from their farms. Residents have at times stopped the bulldozing of their sugarcane fields. They have called on officials and even traveled to Cagayan de Oro to stage protests. All these actions are only the beginning and may serve as capital for their next struggle.