Peasants from Siruma and Bula in Camarines Sur province denounce separate incidents of land grabbing by local bureaucrat-capitalists, landlords, and businessmen.

In Barangay San Ramon and Salvacion, Siruma, farmers protested on February 18 at Kiudkad Campsite to oppose the illegal fencing of their community, signifying seizure of land from 150 farmers and Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) beneficiaries who have long resided in the community.

Around 50 men wearing bonnets began putting up a fence around 300 hectares of land on January 28 in Barangay San Ramon and Salvacion, Siruma. The fencers did not give an explanation nor show any permit. The local government agency also did not consult with residents regarding the fence’s construction.

Residents learned that Wanderlust Land Development Corporation claims around 1,014 hectares of land, covering the barangay center, titled lands, relocation site, forest, agricultural land, and coastal area. Camarines Sur governor Luis Raymund Villafuerte owns the company.

Villafuerte defends that his company legally acquired the land in 2023. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources classified it as “alienable, disposable” (marketable government land), and it has a DAR certificate of non-coverage. He also denies employing bonnet-wearing goons. He claims no blotted complaint proves the incident.

Residents belied the claim. DAR granted them Certificates of land ownership in June 2025, covering 458 hectares in the area. Residents ask how Villafuerte got a title if DAR has mandate over the land.

Meanwhile, in Bula, Camarines Sur, around 200 residents of Barangay Fabrica and Pawili face imminent eviction due to a land dispute between Conrado Colarina of Ruby Shelters Builders and Development Corporation (RSBDC) and the Tan family, neither of which are legitimate area residents.

According to the Portico Banasi Household Farmers Association (PORBAHFA), residents have cultivated the land for over 70 years. The group wonders how the outsiders got titles without the residents knowing.

Pili Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 31 issued in October 2025 an order evicting the long-time resident Brizuela family from 700 square meters of land allegedly registered to the Tan family.

Ana Brizuela says her family holds legal documents proving ownership of around 22,000 square meters of land in the community. They hold barangay certification, real property assessment, and Ministry of Natural Resources District Land Office certification issued in 1989. The state nevertheless granted their land to others.

The Chinese school Rinconada Allied Cultural School’s chairperson Alan L. Tan represents the Tan family and Jasaca Realty Corp, both in Iriga City. They also own real estate in Naga City.

PORBAHFA needs to raise ₱300,000 to file their petition against the Colarina and Tan families at the Regional Trial Court in Pili, Camarines Sur.

PORBAHFA and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bicol (KMB) held a picket and dialogue at the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Bicol Office in Rawis, Legazpi City on October 1, 2025 to seek clarity on land use conversion issues and to fight the threat of demolishing farmers’ communities in Bicol.

KMB demands discussing and resolving many land issues in the region, where peasants have no security of ownership over the lands they till. They continue to face demolition threats, intimidation, and fabricated civil cases.