Saturday, March 22, 2008 Dolefil stops pineapple expansion project in Gensan
THE pineapple fruit giant halted its pineapple plantation expansion project here pending the resolution of alleged row involving the land covered by the lease contract.
Dole Philippines, Inc. (Dolefil) has started to plant pineapple in its 1,000-hectare expansion project in agricultural villages of Sinawal and San Jose here, but the planting was stopped by Kevin Davis, Dolefil vice president and managing director.
In a statement, Davis said Dolefil is interested to pursue its expansion program but out of respect for the ongoing investigation being conducted by the City Council, they have decided to stop the project.
The statement further claimed it would not insist on expanding in areas where "we feel our investments are not welcome."
Councilor Eduardo Leyson III blamed Dolefil for the proliferation of land speculators who lay claims over the land leased to Dolefil for pineapple contract growing.
Leyson said the giant fruit company should have exercised utmost caution in entering the disputed area where there are so many land claimants.
One of the disputed areas is the 500-hectare land leased by the Malo clan to Dolefil.
The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) issued certification confirming that the Malo clan is the recognized owner of an ancestral land in San Jose.
However, Leyson said, in his investigation it came out that the members of the Malo clan were just tenants in the area.
Leyson claimed that actual occupants include, among others, the Cahilsot, Martinez, and Aguilar clans.
Some of the actual occupants were pastureland leaseholders with expired pasture lease agreement with the government.
The city councilor also questioned the issuance of environmental clearance certificate (ECC) issued by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
He clarified that the city government hails the coming in of big investor like Dolefil but said it should not be at the expense of legitimate landowners.
The City Council was alarmed by the emergence of land speculators who were upbeat about the prospects of getting sizeable land rental fee from Dolefil.
Dolefil recently released P1 million as two-year advance land rental fee to the Malo clan.
The fruit firm further said several individuals and groups, including indigenous peoples, came to offer their lands for pineapple growing contract.
"However, we only entertain offers from those who have proper personality and legal documentation over these lands," the statement said.
Dolefil management clarified it has never instigated people to initiate claims over the land.
As to the issuance of an ECC, Dolefil explained it was the Morasco Multi-Purpose Cooperative responsible in processing it with the EMB.
Morasco was the equipment and manpower provider of Dolefil.
Ali Bajunaid, consultant of Morasco, clarified they have not committed any violation in the process of securing the ECC.
"Our application should have been scrapped if we'd failed to comply all the requirements. You knew the processes in government," Bajunaid said. (AZZ)
