land with agricultural corporations has resulted in displacement from ancestral
lands or farms, and loss of livelihood.
Lack of support 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 and indigenous peoples, particularly in
providing them with the much-needed legal support.
Emerging Business and Human Rights Issues
in Land and Agriculture
Increasing land and agricultural investments
In light of continuing gaps in land policies and land administration – this
situation has resulted in human rights abuses among agricultural farmers and
indigenous communities. As part of its continuing initiative to monitor security
of land rights in the country, the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and
Rural Development (ANGOC) prepared a research study on Land Conflicts and
Rights Defenders in the Philippines. This study revealed that 55 percent of the
354 recorded land and resource conflicts from January 2017 to June 2018 were
caused by land investments. These conflict-laden investments cover more than
847 thousand hectares of land. Majority of land investment conflicts (88 percent)
are between communities and private businesses. The same study found
that government agencies and LGUs have served as key facilitators of private
investments on land (Salomon, 2018).
The following grievances highlight ongoing and potential abuses in the
future:
Endangering IPs’ ancestral lands from impacts of mining and
deforestation. Cases documented reveal that several medium and large-scale
mining corporations either ignore FPIC processes or manipulate the processes
in their favor. The presence of military personnel protecting corporation claims
limits the freedom of the IPs to work on their lands. As a result of such, they
experience harassment and killings. Documented cases include 76 killings of
indigenous human rights defenders from 2010 to 2016 (Tebtebba Foundation,
2016). From January 2017 to June 2018, 19 individuals have been killed, 4 have
been injured, while 5 have been detained, in defense of their lands against
destructive or unwelcome mining investments (Salomon, 2018).
72
Upholding Land Rights amidst the Land Rush
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