Central Mindanao University Academic Paradise of the South
Monday, July 31, 2023, on or about 7:30 in the morning, the Buffalo-Tamaraw- Limus and Musuan Inhabitants Landless Farmers Association groups made a forcible entry into the areas of Central Mindanao University- Field 1, Green Valley, and MusDol to compel CMU to bend to their demand of a dialogue with the University President, DAR, DENR, and the LGUs. They are insisting that the CMU lands are idle, unused government-owned lands and rightfully to be distributed to CARP beneficiaries under EO no. 75. They are claiming that they are landless claimants.
Under the Supreme Court decision G.R. No. 100091, October 22, 1992, entitled CMU vs. DARAB Court of Appeals and Alvin Obrique et al., it was ruled that these groups are not tenants and that there is no landlord-tenant relationship existing between CMU and these groups.
Under Section 73 of R.A. 6657, otherwise known as Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Act, persons guilty of committing prohibited acts of forcible entry or illegal detainer do not qualify as beneficiaries and may not avail themselves of the rights and benefits of the Agrarian Reform Act.
The groups are claiming that these lands are idle and unused. However, there is a duly-approved Land Use Development and Infrastructure Program (LUDIP) by the CMU Board of Regents. Field 1 is utilized as a pasture area for the livestock project (Beef cattle), while the Green Valley and MusDol are rice projects of the university for income generation. The lands cannot be used because these groups have now illegally occupied them.
According to the Supreme Court, dated August 20, 1990, the 400 hectare-lands (now 517 hectares) are not covered by the CARP because:
- It is not alienable and disposable.
- CMU land is not in excess of specific limits as determined by Congress.
While there is a portion that is alienable and disposable but it has been declared exempt from CARP because the lands are actually, directly and exclusively used and found to be necessary for school site and campus, including experimental farm stations for educational purposes and for establishing seed and seedling research and pilot production centers.
As the lawful possessor of the land by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 476, CMU has the right to exclude any person from the enjoyment and disposal thereof. For this purpose, CMU may use such force as may be reasonably necessary to repel or prevent this unlawful invasion. (Article 429, Civil Code of the Philippines)
CMU needs its land for its continued existence and for it to be able to discharge its mandate. It has an actual need for its land resources not only for its present uses but also for its future development projects, as shown in its Land Use Plan. It bears stressing that the use of the subject lands by the University is vital for its very noble purpose, one of which is over and beyond the selfish, transient, and very finite purposes of certain individuals.
Thus, the administration, faculty, staff, students, and alumni strongly condemn the unlawful physical invasion or usurpation of CMU property.
CMU molds students, CMU produces leaders, and CMU builds communities. I stand with CMU’s fight for the protection and promotion of its rights over its landholdings. This is for my future, your future, and our children’s future. #istandwithCMU
