Land Grabbing in Rural Philippines: Stories of Displacement and Resilience

Ancestral domains cover an estimated 14 million hectares of the Philippines — roughly 47 percent of the country’s land area. Yet only 33 percent of these domains have been formally titled, leaving the majority of Indigenous and rural communities without legal recognition of lands they have cultivated and protected for generations. The gap between what communities claim and what the state has documented is where land grabbing takes root.

These numbers are not abstract. The Marcos Jr. administration’s Philippine Energy Plan for 2023–2050 targets at least 35 percent renewable energy by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040 — goals that require massive land allocation. One-fourth of over 400 proposed hydropower projects will be built on Indigenous lands, and the Philippines is already the second-largest exporter of nickel, a transition mineral mined almost entirely from ancestral territories. The pressure on rural land is escalating, and the legal framework meant to protect it is struggling to keep up.

Three Drivers of Displacement

These categories overlap more than they diverge. A mining company, a plantation operator, and a real estate developer may each target the same parcel of land through different legal channels. The common thread is that communities with customary tenure but no formal title have little legal standing to resist. The International Day of Peasant Struggles, observed every April 17, draws attention to how profit-driven agribusiness, transnational extractivism, and large-scale “development” projects transform agricultural zones into commercial and industrial corridors — often with the backing of state security forces.

Why Agrarian Reform Hasn’t Closed the Gap

The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) was designed to redistribute land to tillers. In practice, landlords have used legal and extra-legal means to evade it. The case of Litton & Co. and Riverforest Development Corporation (RDC) in Hermosa, Bataan, illustrates how this plays out. Since 2009, farmers organized under SANAMBASU (Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Mamamayan ng Barangay Sumalo) have fought the companies’ efforts to industrialize agricultural zones. RDC has denied the allegations, claiming the land is unsuitable for farming and accusing community members of exploiting the agrarian reform program for personal gain.

The Philippine government’s response to the UN Special Rapporteurs on January 23, 2025, claimed the syndicated estafa cases had been dismissed due to insufficient evidence. Farmers say this is untrue — they continue attending court hearings. The gap between official statements and on-the-ground reality is a recurring pattern. On September 16, 2024, five UN Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups sent a joint communication to Litton & Co., RDC, and the Philippine government, expressing concerns over arbitrary arrests, forced evictions, housing demolitions, and criminalization of civil society struggles. RDC’s response on January 16, 2025 refuted the allegations, while the farmers’ organization continues its fight for implementation of agrarian reform, protection of ancestral domains, and an end to corporate-led expansionist policies.

The Cost of Resistance: Criminalization, Eviction, and Violence

Resisting land grabbing carries severe consequences. A report submitted to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples documented 43 cases of systemic violations, including forced evacuations, militarization, and displacement tied to extractive and energy projects. Internal security forces — the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, and Citizen Armed Force Geographical Units — are deployed to Indigenous territories and are often the perpetrators of harassment, arbitrary arrests, and killings.

Red-Tagging and the Anti-Terrorism Law

Under Executive Order No. 70 and the Anti-Terrorism Law, Indigenous leaders and peasant organizers are routinely labeled “enemies of the state” or “anti-development.” The “Talaingod 18” were convicted in July 2024. At least 215 Lumad schools have closed due to military surveillance, raids, and red-tagging. Education — one of the few pathways out of displacement — becomes a target.

Eviction by Force and by Law

On September 10, 2024, at least 50 state security forces and local government officials forced their way into the disputed Lupang Ramos estate in Cavite, claiming a surprise inspection for African Swine Flu. Military tanks and police vehicles also parked for hours in the nearby Lupang Tartaria estate — 155 hectares in dispute between farmers and the Aguinaldo clan and real estate developer Ayala Land. Earlier in 2024, armed security personnel hired by the Aguinaldo and Ayala groups assaulted protesting farmers. In Nueva Vizcaya, Indigenous Tuwali residents were violently dispersed during a peaceful barricade against OceanaGold’s mining operations.

Killings That Go Unpunished

Data from Karapatan shows that from July 2022 to December 2024, there were 119 extrajudicial killings and 14 enforced disappearances under the current administration’s counterinsurgency programs. Among the documented cases: nine Tumandok leaders massacred in Capiz in 2020; a Hanunuo-Mangyan youth killed in a military raid in Mindoro falsely reported as an armed encounter; and a 16-year-old Dulangan Manobo shot dead in Sultan Kudarat and branded a rebel. In Mindoro, 50-year-old farmer Juan Sumilhig was killed by the 4th Infantry Battalion in San Jose, followed by intensified military operations in Roxas, Oriental Mindoro, further endangering Indigenous communities.

What Affected Communities and Supporters Can Do

The situation is grave, but not hopeless. The release of the Bataan farmers on bail in January 2025, and the House Committee on Agrarian Reform’s Congressional inquiry on January 28, 2025, show that sustained pressure can produce results. Below are concrete actions for different stakeholders.

For Farmers and Indigenous Communities Facing Displacement

Document everything. Record dates, names of officials, badge numbers, and vehicle plates during evictions or harassment. File complaints with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). Seek support from organizations like SANAMBASU, Katribu, and PANAP, which have experience in both domestic legal advocacy and international complaint mechanisms. The UN Special Rapporteurs system — accessible through the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights — accepts communications on behalf of communities facing imminent harm.

For Supporters and Civil Society Organizations

Amplify cases through media and solidarity campaigns. The joint declaration of peasant and solidarity organizations on the International Day of Peasant Struggles (April 17, 2025) provides a template for advocacy demands: implement agrarian reform, protect ancestral domains, end land grabbing and militarization, repeal laws that prioritize corporations over communities, and secure justice for land-related killings and arrests. International solidarity — including from CETIM, PANAP, and the Global Peoples’ Caravan for Food, Land, and Climate Justice — has been instrumental in securing the release of detained farmers.

For the General Public

Understand that the issue affects everyone. Land grabbing in rural areas drives deforestation, destroys watersheds, and undermines food sovereignty. The Philippines’ push for renewable energy — while necessary — cannot come at the cost of displacing the communities whose lands host the projects. Hold government agencies accountable: the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), NCIP, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) have all been named in FPIC and land grabbing violations. Demand that FPIC processes be genuine, not ceremonial.

Frequently Asked Questions

Land grabbing is not a single event but a process — one that unfolds through court cases, legislative sessions, military checkpoints, and eviction notices. The evidence is clear: communities with formal title are harder to displace, and communities with international visibility are harder to silence. The 14 million hectares of ancestral domains that remain untitled represent both a vulnerability and an opportunity. Titling them, enforcing FPIC, and holding corporations and state agencies accountable would change the trajectory for millions of rural Filipinos. What happens next depends on whether the public treats land rights as the foundation of food sovereignty, climate justice, and genuine development — not an obstacle to it.

If this was useful, you might also want to read Land Grabbing Scandals: Unveiling the Truth Behind Lost Ancestral Domains.

Sources

Land Struggle in the Philippines — CETIM’s detailed report on the SANAMBASU case, UN interventions, and the legal framework of syndicated estafa.

Philippines: Progress and New Challenges in Land Struggles — CETIM’s April 2025 joint declaration and update on the Congressional inquiry and farmer releases.

Stop Harassment of Filipino Farmers Resisting Land Grabs. PANAP, September 2024.

Indigenous Peoples Raise Alarm Over Rising Rights Violations in the Philippines. Hiyaw, 2024.

UN Special Rapporteurs Joint Communication to the Government of the Philippines, Litton & Co., and Riverforest Development Corporation. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, September 16, 2024.