Vol. XXI, No. 169 [ Business World Online ]
Monday, March 31, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
CALATAGAN, BATANGAS — A day after the Sumilao farmers and San Miguel Corp. (SMC) inked a deal on a 144-hectare land in Bukidnon, Malacañang is encouraging parties with land conversion disputes to resort to alternative modes of conflict resolution.
Calling the Sumilao agreement a "model" case in dispute resolution, Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita said contending parties under a similar situation should try their best to settle their differences among themselves.
"There is such thing as an exhaustion of all legal remedies and that is with the courts. There is also an exhaustion of administrative remedies and that is when [the case reached] the Office of the President. Indeed, [the compromise involving the Sumilao farm land] should be a model so that other similar cases could very well result in the same manner," he said in a press conference.
On Saturday, the Sumilao farmers and SMC signed a memorandum of agreement that ended the decade-old quest of displaced Sumilao farmers to regain their land.
Under the agreement, SMC agreed to release to qualified farmers by a deed of donation 50 hectares within the original 144 hectares.
SMC will then acquire 94 additional hectares outside the original property.
The government will buy the 94 hectares from SMC and will, in turn, sell these to the farmers who would pay the land in 30 years. — ADBR
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