Republic of the PhilippinesHOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

TWELFTH CONGRESSThird Regular Session

HOUSE RESOLUTION No. 1271________________________________________________________________________________________

Introduced by Reps. SATUR C. OCAMPO, CRISPIN B. BELTRAN and LIZA L. MAZA ________________________________________________________________________________________

RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE COMMITTEES ON JUSTICE AND AGRICULTURE TO CONDUCT AN INQUIRY, IN AID OF LEGISLATION, INTO THE PLIGHT OF SOME 200 SMALL

LANDOWNERS IN BARANGAY TANGLAW, DUJALI, DAVAO DEL NORTE, CURRENTLY WALLOWING IN POVERTY AND IN DANGER OF LOSING THEIR LANDS

AS A RESULT OF THEIR APPARENTLY ONEROUS "DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT" WITH COMMERCIAL BANANA GROWERS AND EXPORTERS IN THE AREA, AND RECOMMENDING

REMEDIAL MEASURES THEREFOR

WHEREAS in the 1950s, the village of Tanglaw in the outskirts of Dujali town, Davao Del Norte served as a settlement site for some 200 deserving former convicts from the Davao Penal Colony who were awarded with six (6) hectares of land each by then President Ramon Magsaysay. In the next four decades, they transformed barren frontier land into a progressive farming community with fully irrigated lands planted to rice, corn and other crops;

WHEREAS in the early 1990s, however, two commercial banana exporting companies namely, the Tanglaw Fruits Co. Inc. (TFCI) and Farmingtown Agro-Developers Inc. (FADI), were able to convince the former convicts-turned-small landowners to enter into a “development agreement” and special power of attorney arrangement that would allow their farms to be converted and consolidated into a vast banana plantation covering some 1,000 hectares under the exclusive supervision and control of said companies;

WHEREAS the small landowners, most of whom are unable to read and write simple English, were enticed into the project through promises of advanced cash payments covering the first five years of approximated income from the banana plantation as determined solely by TFCI and FADI, as well as training on the latest farming technologies which never materialized because they were completely excluded from participating in the plantation’s day-to-day operations;

WHEREAS under the standard 15-year Development Agreement with TFCI and FADI, a small landowner with six hectares will be paid a mere P4,000 per hectare annually during the first five years; P5,000 from the 6th to 10th year; and P6,000 from the 11th to 15th year--or roughly translating to daily net incomes of only P51.22 during the first five years; P55.88 from the 6th to 10th year; and P84.55 from the 11th to 15th year if miscellaneous deductions are included, such as property tax amounting to around P15.45 per day;

WHEREAS the small landowners, most of whom are in their late sixties and on the second year of the third phase of the agreement, are currently earning a measly daily income of P84.55 which is hardly enough to cover for food expenses, much less for other necessities like electricity, education, water, clothing, medicine, hospitalization, funeral and other expenses;

WHEREAS inasmuch as the Special Power of Attorney granted TFCI and FADI full control over the lands including the right to use the same as collateral for bank loans, the small landowners have been forced to make additional cash advances slapped with a hefty 17% interest per annum and further deducted from the meager rentals being paid by the two companies—practically wiping out all future income in the remaining years of the agreement;

WHEREAS the land beneficiaries through their organization, Tanglaw Landowners and Heirs Association, have called on concerned government agencies to intercede on their behalf, particularly agriculture secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr., former chairperson of the Lorenzo Group of Companies which own both TFCI and FADI. However, these agencies have yet to attend to their demands, specifically: 1) a fair share in the proceeds of the two companies from operating their very own lands, 2) a reduction in the usurious interest payments for cash advances to a reasonable level, and 3) better terms for the impoverished landowners.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, that the House of Representatives direct the Committees on Justice and Agriculture to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the plight of some 200 small landowners in the village of Tanglaw and adjoining barangays in the town of Dujali, Davao Del Norte currently suffering in poverty and bankruptcy, resulting from their grossly onerous development agreement with commercial banana growers and exporters in the area, and recommending remedial measures therefor.

Adopted,

SATUR C. OCAMPO CRISPIN B. BELTRAN LIZA L. MAZA Bayan Muna--Party-List Bayan Muna--Party-List Bayan Muna--Party-List