At the same time, OFFWA’s members continue to be hindered from working on the hacienda. To make ends meet, they have been engaging in various skilled to semi-skilled occupations unrelated to agriculture. OFFWA members are calling upon the Kabankalan government to clarify the land use status of the areas on which construction projects are ongoing. Industrial activities should also be brought to an immediate halt, if it is determined that the subdivision and other projects are illegally being constructed on agricultural land. Regarding the issuance of an erroneous NOC, OFFWA has called upon the DARMO – specifically, MAROs Lito Delos Santos, Luz Rezaga, and Rolando Morales – to sign CARPERLAD Form 14, or the Report on Failure to Serve the NOC or VOS (voluntary offer to sell) Acceptance Letter to the Landowner and Request for its Publication. n Source: Kaisahan Tungo sa Kaunlaran ng Kanayunan at Repormang Pansakahan/Solidarity Towards Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (Kaisahan Inc.). (2017). Case Brief: Overflow Farmers and Farm Workers Association (OFFWA). [Unpublished case brief for the Joint Action for Land Rights]. Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC). (2017). Field Interview. 4 July 2017, Negros Occidental. most cases, however, these are not always transparent. Reports of improper procedures in securing free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), lack of full disclosure on the proposed investments, and misrepresentation have been documented. These concerns are intensified by ambiguous land use policies and processes that have resulted to overlapping jurisdictions among agencies, conflicting land claims and consequent land rights abuses. They are manifested in double titling, confusing municipal land classification, discrepancies in boundary surveys, and overlapping property rights (Ravanera, 2015). Relevant government agencies recognize these problems and have issued the Joint DAR-DENRLRA-NCIP Administrative Order No. 01-12 to clarify their respective jurisdictions, policies, programs and projects. Unfortunately, this has worsened the situation, causing undue delay in the issuance of ancestral domain titles. Among agricultural farmers who have gone into longterm contracts (such as long-term lease, joint venture, and marketing contracts) with large agribusiness companies, many of these contractual arrangements are problematic and unfavorable to the smallholder farmers (FAO, 2013). In the transactions between business companies and agricultural farmers and indigenous communities on their ancestral lands, the following issues have been identified: n Non-transparency and access to information: Important and basic documents, such as contracts between the investor and former landowner or with the farmers, have been found to be inaccessible. To make matters worse, farmers lack the technical or legal capacity to audit and examine financial documents. n Erosion of land tenure security: Land use rights and restrictions are relatively clear and straightforward. And yet, implementation on the use of the land with agricultural corporations has resulted in the displacement of farmers and loss of livelihood. n Lack of support to farmers in dispute resolution: There are avenues to lodge complaints by affected parties with responsible agencies. Yet, despite the presence of these mechanisms for lodging complaints, there is a perceived lack of support in prioritizing farmers, particularly in providing them with the much-needed legal support. Emerging Business and Human Rights Issues in Agriculture Increasing agricultural investments – despite continuing gaps in land policies and administration – has resulted in human rights abuses among agricultural farmers and indigenous communities. These complaints have already been filed in relevant government agencies as well as in international bodies. 7