negotiations between rights holders and investors; in 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 in 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-DENR-LRA-NCIP Administrative Order No. 1 of 2012 (JAO 1) to clarify
their respective jurisdictions, policies, programs, and projects. Unfortunately,
JAO 1 has been causing undue delay in the issuance and registration of ancestral
land and ancestral domain titles.
Among agricultural farmers who have gone into long-term 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:
Non-consultation of local communities: Investments in forestlands do not
require consultation with local communities given that these areas are part of the
public domain. As such, inhabitants of ancestral domains within forestlands are
not consulted prior to investment operations. Despite policies mandating Free,
Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), several cases of forcible entry into ancestral
domains have also been documented. In some instances, FPIC processes are also
manipulated in favor of investors.
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 and indigenous peoples lack the technical or legal capacity to examine
contracts and financial documents.
Erosion of land tenure security: Land use rights and restrictions are
relatively clear and straightforward. And yet, implementation on the use of the
ANGOC and KPA
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