Environment Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga and her family have been accused of land grabbing by the farmer’s group Katipunan ng mga Samahang Magbubukid sa Timog Katagalugan (KASAMA-TK) before the Office of the Ombudsman.
These allegations stemmed from the supposed “massive land grabbing” by the Yulo King Ranch (YKR) in the towns of Coron and Busuanga, Palawan.
A 2014 fact-finding and solidarity mission report indicated that the affected residents were from eight villages: Decalachao, Guadalupe, San Jose, and San Nicolas in Coron, as well as Quezon, New Busuanga, Cheey, and Sto. Niño in Busuanga.
KASAMA-TK Spokesman Orly Marcellana, with their legal counsel, highlighted the urgency of investigating the secretary and her family, focusing on the farmers’ rights.
Marcellana pointed out a potential ‘conflict of interest’ arising from Yulo’s appointment as secretary, while the alleged farmer group, claiming an area of 40,000 hectares in Palawan, had filed complaints.
ACT Party-list Rep. France Castro has introduced a resolution for a congressional investigation into the issue.
Farmers have also appealed to House Speaker Martin Romualdez to sincerely implement the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (Republic Act 6657), in line with President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr.’s directive to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to complete land title distributions to eligible Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB).
