The Cry for Justice: Betrayal of the Poor, Plunder of the Land
Today, we speak not in silence but in unity. We raise our collective voice
with a firm and determined intent: to fight for social justice, to expose the truth,
and to correct a grave wrong that has mocked our Constitution and trampled
upon the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (RA 8371). What we face is not a mere
local dispute but a reflection of a national crisis, one that affects Indigenous
Peoples, farmers, and the Filipino people as a whole.
At the center of this struggle lies a painful reality: the very government
office mandated to protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples has instead betrayed
its sworn duty and deprived communities of their lifeline. A vivid example of this
betrayal can be seen in the plight of the Silmonan family. Since 1946, they have
cultivated their ancestral land with hard work, sacrifice, and love, passing it on
through generations as both a home and a source of livelihood. Yet despite this
long stewardship, their land was unjustly taken and handed over to a man of
influence, Edgar Neri, a man who has never tilled the soil for even a single day.
How did such injustice happen? The answer is as shocking as it is familiar. In
2016, a government officer, MARO Edilberto de Vesa, issued a fraudulent
Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) in Neri’s favor. His decision was not
grounded in truth, law, or justice, but in the false testimony of an Indigenous
People’s Mandatory Representative (IPMR) who betrayed the sacred duty
entrusted to him by his community. With the stroke of a pen, decades of labor,
ancestral ties, and a family’s lifeline were erased.
May we respectfully raise this fundamental question: Can the Department
of Agrarian Reform (DAR) lawfully issue a Certificate of Land Ownership Award
(CLOA) without first conducting thorough verification as to who are the actual
occupants and tillers of the land? By the very mandate of agrarian reform, the
CLOA is intended to recognize and protect the rights of genuine farmers and
Indigenous Peoples who have long occupied and cultivated the land. Yet in this
case, such basic requirement of validation appears to have been disregarded.
It has been openly admitted by the Municipal Agrarian Reform Officer
(MARO) himself that neither he nor any of his personnel ever visited the
contested area prior to the issuance of the CLOA. This serious omission is further
attested by several respected tribal chieftains who can categorically declare that
the supposed beneficiaries listed are fictitious. Even more troubling is the
admission of the Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR) who, after
falsely testifying, later confessed before the community leaders that his testimony
was untrue.
In light of these facts, one cannot help but ask: Why has the DAR, despite
being confronted with clear evidence of irregularity, not moved to correct this
grave injustice? Instead of rectifying the error, the agency has even secured a
decision from the DAR Adjudication Board (DARAB) ordering the eviction of the
Silmonan family, an Indigenous household that has long occupied and depended
on the land for survival. Such action not only contradicts the spirit of the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law but also constitutes a blatant violation of
the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (RA 8371), which recognizes the ancestral
rights of Indigenous communities to their lands and resources. More than a
technical lapse, this represents a profound social injustice that undermines the
very purpose of agrarian reform to uplift the poor, the landless, and the
marginalized.
The case of the Silmonan family is thus not merely an isolated legal dispute;
it is emblematic of a wider national problem where bureaucratic negligence, false
testimonies, and disregard for community voices combine to dispossess the weak
in favor of the powerful. It calls for urgent correction, accountability, and a
reaffirmation of the law’s true spirit: to serve justice, protect the vulnerable, and
ensure that land reform remains an instrument of equity, not oppression.
This is not only a legal travesty, it is a betrayal of trust, of the people, and of
God. Public office is a public trust, yet too many government institutions have
become dens of corruption, where greed prevails over justice. When those sworn
to uphold the law instead commit acts of fraud, democracy itself collapses into
nothing more than an empty slogan.
The case of the Silmonans is not an isolated incident. Across Mindanao, and
throughout the Philippines, Indigenous Peoples and farmers are being
systematically driven away from their ancestral lands. This painful reality was
brought to national attention by journalist Ceazar Soriano through three episodes
of his PTV4 program Magandang Gabi Pilipinas. The series carried the theme
Agaw Lupa, Agaw Tubig, Agaw Buhay. It revealed that more than 101 Indigenous
leaders in Mindanao have already been killed extrajudicially, targeted simply
because they resisted land and water grabs by the powerful.
Military reservations are declared over Indigenous territories. Plantations
expand without consent. Mining and logging operations devastate forests and
rivers. Corporations are given free rein to plunder natural resources while local
communities are left impoverished. Today, more than 42,000 hectares of
ancestral domain remain under threat of displacement and destruction.
Behind these displacements lie the same destructive forces: greed, power,
and the exploitative logic of corporate globalization. Indigenous territories are
sacrificed at the altar of profit, while the very communities that have safeguarded
these lands for centuries are pushed aside. What is at stake is not just land, it is
culture, identity, livelihood, and the future of generations yet to come.
That is why we say: enough! Enough of betrayal, enough of the mockery of
justice, enough of a system that rewards the powerful while punishing the
powerless. We gather today because we believe in the promise of truth: Veritas
liberabit vos, “the truth shall set us free.”
Let it be declared: no one is above the law. Not the rich, not the powerful,
not the corrupt. We bow only to the majesty of justice not to money, not to guns,
not to influence. Yet we see a society where corruption thrives and power
dictates outcomes. Public projects such as so-called flood control programs
remind us how greed poisons our institutions, leaving ordinary citizens drowning
in poverty and deceit. But we refuse to be silent. We refuse to surrender. We will
speak. We will rise. We will resist. Because true wealth is not measured by
money, fame, or power. True wealth is found in love, in justice, and in service to
one another. The Scriptures remind us that everything is meaningless if it is not
rooted in justice and compassion. Christ himself declared: “Deny thyself.” Yet
what do we see today? A humanity worshipping false gods, the god of money, the
idol of consumerism, the empire of greed.
That is why we declare with conviction: “Walang sinuman ang nabubuhay
para sa sarili lamang. Tayong lahat ay may pananagutan sa isa’t isa!” No one lives
for themselves alone. We all share responsibility for one another.
We stand not only for the Silmonan family but for every Indigenous
community robbed of ancestral land, for every farmer dispossessed of soil and
livelihood, and for every Filipino denied dignity and the right to live in peace. This
is not just a struggle over land. It is a struggle for life itself.
Therefore, we issue this collective call: To the Government: Fulfill your
sworn duty. Serve the people, not the powerful few. Justice delayed is justice
denied, and every day of inaction deepens the wound of injustice. To the Filipino
People: Stand with us. Do not allow silence to become complicity. Injustice thrives
when good people fail to act. To the World: Hear our cry. Our struggle is not only
about property, it is about human dignity, culture, the environment, and the very
future of humanity.
We will resist. We will fight. We will rise together. For justice. For truth. For
our land. For the generations yet to come. To God’s be the glory!
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