Fisherfolk in Basay town, Negros Oriental province expressed their opposition to a housing project for former rebels (FRs) in Barangay Bongalonan, citing reasons such as security concerns and land acquisition.

Emmanuel Galon, Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer II of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Negros Oriental, told the Philippine News Agency that a public hearing was called for by the town council aimed at threshing out matters surrounding the project.

“The fisherfolk said they have long been applying to be awarded the same government land but in futility, while the FRs are instead soon to be given land titles,” Galon said in mixed English and Cebuano.

The fishermen expected that their concerns would be resolved during the public hearing but Galon told them it was only the DAR that could address the issue.

Galon urged the protesting fisherfolk who think they are qualified for government land distribution to file a petition for inclusion with the DAR.

He explained to the protesters that the land in question, formerly the CDCP Mining Corporation and now a government-owned and controlled operation, was not previously included for distribution to qualified individuals until last year following the passage of Executive Order (EO) No. 75.

Under EO 75, government-owned lands that are classified as alienable and disposable will be covered by the DAR under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program and can be distributed to agrarian reform beneficiaries, including farmers, agricultural graduates, overseas Filipino workers, retired military personnel, and rebel returnees.

Galon said the housing project for FRs undertaken by the Negros Oriental Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict has already identified 93 beneficiaries.

The provincial government initially allocated P60 million for the housing project for FRs.  The project includes 100 housing units with 200 square meters of land for each beneficiary.

Some 13 hectares of government land in the defunct copper mines in Barangay Bongalonan will constitute the housing project and communal farm for the FRs.

The FR-beneficiaries were already documented and endorsed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, and more are undergoing the process of validation.

The DAR official assured that the opposition would not hamper or slow down the ongoing process of providing land titles and building houses later for the FRs.

Meanwhile, Galon said there is plenty of land at the former CDCP mining site that is available for distribution to qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries. (PNA)