Background The Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (otherwise known as APECO) is a 12,923-hectare special economic zone in the Municipality of Casiguran, Aurora. It was created in 2007 through Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9490, and amended in 2010 by R.A. No. 10083 (which lapsed into law). It was sponsored in the Senate by Senator Edgardo Angara, and in the Congress by his son, Representative Juan Edgardo Angara. APECO aims to attract foreign investors from the Pacific Ocean side to Aurora but has so far received much opposition from community members of the Municipality of Casiguran coming from the peasant groups, fisherfolk and indigenous peoples who claim that their respective rights and the laws on which these are anchored are being violated by APECO activities. On November 26, 2012, 120 marchers - mostly peasants, indigenous peoples and fisherfolks - walked on foot from Casiguran to Manila. The marchers arrived in Manila on December 10, 2012, and stayed at the Ateneo de Manila University. On December 11, 2012, President Benigno Aquino III, together with some of his Cabinet members, namely, DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima, DBM Secretary Florencio Abad, DAR Secretary Gil de los Reyes, DENR Secretary Ramon Paje, NCIP Chair Brigida Zenaida Pawid, CHED Chairperson Patricia Licuanan, DA Undersecretary Emerson Palad, Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang, and PMS Secretary Julia Abad, met the farmers, fisherfolks and indigenous peoples in a dialogue at the San Jose Seminary Covered Court at the Ateneo de Manila University in Diliman, Quezon City. Also present were the Ateneo de Manila University Administration led by Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, S.J., Jesuit Provincial Fr. Jojo Magadia, SJ, Theologian Fr. Catalino Arevalo, S.J., and scores of San Jose seminarians, faculty, students, and NGO supporters. The event was well-covered by the President's media corps and was covered live by ANC. The Casiguran Marchers’ Calls vis-à-vis the President’s Response The President and his Cabinet members arrived at the venue at exactly 11:49 am. Father Joefran Talaban, parish priest of Casiguran, started the activity with a prayer. It was immediately followed by the sectoral issues presented by Aderlina Constantino (peasant sector), Alejandro Barcenas (upland farmers sector), Agta-Dumagat Chieftain Vita Banayag (indigenous peoples sector), Armand de la Cruz (indigenous peoples sector), Marlon Angara (fisherfolk sector), and Vicente Convicto (President, PIGLAS-CA). A summary of the issues and demands of the Casiguran Marchers was read by Fr. Edwin Gariguez, Executive Secretary of CBCP-NASSA. After the presentation of the issues, President Aquino, and a couple of Cabinet members he asked to present, took the floor to respond to the calls of the marchers as shown below. Apended below are action of government vis-a-vis the various calls, with updates.

CASIGURAN MARCHERS’

CALLS

PRESIDENT’S and CABINET MEMBERS’ RESPONSE

1. Distribute the 105-hectare

school reservation of

Aurora State College of

Technology (ASCOT) in

Casiguran, Aurora to the

fifty six (56) farmer

beneficiaries.

a. ASCOT through its Board

of Regents headed by

CHED shall immediately

issue a Deed of Transfer in

favor of the DAR for the

distribution of said land to

the farmer beneficiaries.

b. The DAR shall issue

Certificates of Land

Ownership Award (CLOA)

to the farmer beneficiaries

who have been tilling the

land since 1960.

c. The DA shall also provide

support services such as

farm-to-market roads and

credit facilities to the

farmers.

CHED and DOJ are tasked to work on a proposal under which a

“kasulatan” (agreement) by ASCOT and the farmers will be made

wherein the subject land will be used by the farmers for a certain time,

and the latter will be assured of their peaceful possession.

DAR Secretary Gil de los Reyes also added that the proposed

“kasulatan” will cite the terms of use of the agricultural rice lands by

the farmers and that ASCOT cannot convert the rice lands to other

uses.

UPDATES

1) USECs of DAR and DOJ, President of ASCOT, and CHED

representative, met with marchers and support groups in Caritas

Manila on December 15, 2012. The officials were told about the

position of TFAA, its non-acceptance of usufruct and reiterated

demand for land distribution. The lawyers of TFAA led by Atty.

Chris Monsod impressed on the group that the CMU case cannot

be used as justification for the non-distribution of CLOA to

Casiguran farmers since the two cases are different. USEC

Parungao of DAR asked for a copy of the TFAA position and said

he will write the DOJ about it.

2) A meeting was held in DAR Central office on 18 February, with

farmer-representatives of PAKISAMA, USEC Parungao of DAR

and representative of ASCOT present. ASCOT Board claimed they

have no jurisdiction to return the reserved land to the government

and that it is the DepEd’s role. DAR would consult this with the

legal team and get DOJ’s interpretation.

2. Award Foreshore Lease

Agreements (FLA) to the

fishers in the Casiguran

sound to at least two

hundred (200) fisherfolk

families who will be

displaced because of the

construction of the airstrip.

a. Suspend the construction of

the airport.

b. DA shall process the

identification of the

fisherfolks and DENR shall

Commitment of Department of Agriculture, through DA Usec

Emerson Palad (Sec. Alcala’s representative):

The rights of the fisherfolk shall be continuously protected and

respected. The fisherfolks shall continue to enjoy rights to fish within

the 15- kilometer zone or the municipal waters in Casiguran. The DA

Secretary emphasized that the welfare and needs of the people,

especially those who will be displaced and relocated, will be heeded.

UPDATES

1) BFAR Director Atty. Asis Perez came to Caritas Manila Meeting

on December 18, 2012. After describing their situation,

Casiguran fishers reiterated their demands including the

CASIGURAN MARCHERS’

CALLS

PRESIDENT’S and CABINET MEMBERS’ RESPONSE

award the FLA to the

fisherfolks.

c. Instruct the Municipality of

Casiguran to proclaim the

Casiguran sound as

municipal waters.

delineation of municipal waters. Director Perez was not amenable

to the request but promised to set up payaw projects in Casiguran

and to visit the Casiguran fishers on 27 December 2012. He did

not come given a typhoon in Visayas region he had to attend to.

2) He was invited by TFAA to visit the area in time for a Fishers

Conference in February, but he could not commit a date yet.

3. Issue the Certificate of

Ancestral Domain Title

(CADT) to the Agta-

Dumagats claim of their

Ancestral Domain.

a. Suspend the operations of

APECO on the ancestral

domain due to lack of

consent from the Agta-

Dumagats and respect their

ancestral domains in

accordance with the IPRA.

The CADT will be awarded to the indigenous peoples, subject to the

process, through NCIP Chair Brigada Zenaida Pawid. Their rights will

be respected despite the APECO Law.

The consultation process under the law shall be followed, as well as

the concurrence of all the LGUs, before any project shall be made in

the area.

The 80% forest cover of Ildefonso Peninsula shall be maintained as a

natural protection against typhoon in the area. No structures shall be

made by APECO within the area.

UPDATES

1) NCIP Chair Pawid, committed on December 11, 2012 dialogue in

Ateneo, in a meeting with the IP marchers that the NCIP will

facilitate the release of CADT for the San Ildefonso area (11,900

has) since the survey here has already been finished. The

mainland area, which was having problem with the Mayor re

survey, will later be addressed.

2) On December 17, 2012 Commissioner Conching Calzado visited

the marchers in Caritas Manila, where they were billeted, and

asked them to send NCIP a resolution on their wish to go ahead

with the CADT distribution covering the San Ildefonso Peninsula,

and to name their leaders. The resolution was sent to NCIP a

couple of days later. Commissioner Calzado said that NCIP can

conduct a field validation in January. As of this writing, no field

validation has yet been conducted.

3) In February 2013, a meeting was called by Chair Pawid in NCIP

central office and told the IP leaders of Casiguran that the issue is

already in the Supreme Court and that they cannot proceed unless

the APECO issue is settled there. And this update practically

reversed the earlier commitments.

4. Renewal of Integrated

Social Forestry (ISF)

The ISF stewardship contracts, which will expire in 2014, shall be

renewed regardless of whether or not APECO is there.

CASIGURAN MARCHERS’

CALLS

PRESIDENT’S and CABINET MEMBERS’ RESPONSE

contracts to 98 upland

farmers whose contract will

expire in 2014.

DENR Secretary Ramon Paje also assured that the ISF contract for

Certificate of Stewardships of the upland farmers shall be renewed for

another 25 years. The rights of the Industrial Development

Corporation (IDC) shall also be cancelled. APECO cannot remove the

residents in the peninsula.

UPDATES:

There was a report from Casiguran upland farmers that DENR

representatives visited their place on February and were told that they

would be having a census.

There was an attempt by the Provincial board to levy a 10-year back

taxes from the farmers which the DENR Centro Casiguran declared

invalid.

5. Stop the release of the

budget and suspend all the

activities of APECO.

a. The COA shall audit the

expenditures of APECO

since the start of its

operations.

b. A high-level body shall be

created which includes the

sectors affected by APECO

and the National Economic

and Development Authority

(NEDA) to review APECO

feasibility.

The NEDA shall review the APECO Project within one week, together

with the representatives from the Casiguran Marchers. The

investigation will also include whether or not there was consultation in

the area, concurrence from the LGUs, and undue payments, if any.

The COA shall also audit the APECO project.

UPDATES:

1) The NEDA called for a meeting in its office in Makati on

December 18, 2013. The meeting was chaired by Secretary

Arsenio Balisacan of NEDA and attended by a delegation from

APECO led by Malcolm Sarmiento and a delegation from Task

Force Anti-APECO (TFAA) led by Former NEDA heads, Solita

Monsod and Ciel Habito, Christian Monsod (legal counsel), and

representatives of the Casiguran Marchers (5) and support groups

including the religious(7).

Secretary Balisacan shared that he told the President that the

review could take 2-3 months. (Subsequently, the news reported

that the President extended the review two to three months.) He

also shared the outline of the investigation and the rationale for

the APECO and that the meeting was just a start of the

consultation process. TFAA representatives took turns on raising

issues as follows: feasibility of the APECO project given the

location, the viability of the various projects introduced (e.g., fish

cages, seaweeds; mangroves destruction, etc) and the issue of

inclusive growth.

CASIGURAN MARCHERS’

CALLS

PRESIDENT’S and CABINET MEMBERS’ RESPONSE

2) NEDA called another consultation on February 19, 2013 in

Casiguran, Aurora, and was attended by 200 representatives of

TFAA, all residents of Casiguran, and a score of representatives

from APECO. Both parties had five speakers. The APECO

representatives zeroed in on the jobs created and will be created

by APECO and other opportunities APECO will bring to

Casiguran citizens. Aside from the freedom they enjoy in their

present livelihood, the TFAA representatives from different

sectors explained in details and figures the income they receive

from coconut, rice, vegetable farming and from fishing contrasting

them to wage earned by APECO workers and the amount being

offered by APECO on their landholdings.

3) TFAA wrote the Office of the President on 28 December to include

COA in the review process but no response has yet been received

by TFAA. A follow-up was made and TFAA representative was

notified on 12 March that COA sent a reply via registered mail

which has not been received to date.

4) On January 16, 2013, TFAA also sent a letter to the Department of

Justice (DOJ) asking for TFAA's participation in the on-going

legal review of APECO. The first report to the President has been

filed by the DOJ Secretary. In addition, the DOJ Secretary

committed to our involvement in the process and TFAA is awaiting

notice.

6. Declare the Municipality of

Casiguran as Protected

Area.

a. Issue an Executive Order

(E.O.) declaring the entire

municipality of Casiguran

as protected area.

Several questions and clarifications were also made by APECO Representative Malcolm Sarmiento, Atty. Christian Monsod, AKBAYAN Representative Kaka Bag-ao, and some members of the marchers. Finally, the commitments made by the President were summarized by Fr. Xavier Alpasa, Executive Director of Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB). The dialogue was ended by a prayer led by Fr. Joefran Talaban.