Distilling the Issues in VMC Distillery (Part 2)

The present operations of VMC’s distillery in Brgy. Purisima, Manapla has drawn flak from residents, including former employees and farm workers.

Issues hurled against the distillery range from environmental degradation, reckless endangerment of nearby residents, land-grabbing and eviction of agrarian reform beneficiaries, and lack of pertinent business documents and permits.

In an effort to shed more light on the issues, Negros Daily Bulletin recently interviewed concerned stakeholders who are complaining against the operations of VMC’s distillery.

These are former VMC employee Randy Bacaron, resident Ronald Deocadez, long-time resident and environmentalist Joemarie Almogia, and 71-year old Dolores Managaytay, Vice-Chairman of the 105 agrarian reform beneficiaries to whom the contested 106 hectares VMC landholding was awarded by the Department of Agrarian Reform.

NDB also sought the side of VMC.

This marks the first time that the company issued a public statement on the controversy.

In a deviation from traditional feature presentation, NDB will paraphrase the direct statements, translated from the vernacular, of the stakeholders and, at the end of their statements on every issue, NDB will present VMC’s stand.

The first part of this story, which presented the two sides of the pollution and reckless endangerment issue, was published in NDB’s previous issue.

This is the second part.

Land-Grabbing and Eviction of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries

Randy Bacaron:

Way back in 1997, the Bank of the Philippine Islands already issued a Notice of Embargo against VMC on these 106-hectares landholdings, in accordance with a court order from the Silay City Court – Branch 40.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Philippine Star have published Notices of Coverage on these landholdings, where the distillery and adjoining farms are located.

We learned from the Land Bank of the Philippines that the government has already paid VMC more than P24 million for these 106 hectares. We have a copy of the claim number for the bank’s payment.

We have also secured a document from the Register of Deeds which shows that this entire landholding was already acquired by the Republic of the Philippines in 2013.

These lands are classified as agricultural. The real property taxes paid by VMC on these lands to the Manapla local government were based on the agricultural rate, precisely because the lands are classified as agricultural.

In 2013, VMC stopped paying real property taxes these lands to the local government, because VMC already knew that the ownership of the lands was acquired by the government.

Since these lands are classified as agricultural, they were covered by the government’s agrarian reform program.

In 2013, the Department of Agrarian Reform, assisted by the Philippine National Police, distributed Certificates of Land Ownership Awards to qualified farmers and farm workers of these lands and then installed the beneficiaries on the property.

When the DAR personnel and the police left the area, the beneficiaries were threatened by VMC’s security guards to vacate the land awarded to them.

These farm workers shed sweat, tears and blood for many years in the farms to avail of the government’s agrarian reform program, but VMC denied then the right to farm their own land and benefit from the CARP.

Recently, VMC constructed concrete fences around some areas near the distillery, as though they own the property. The fence blocked our main access road, and prevented us from accessing and using the public plaza.

The plaza is the social and recreational center of our community. Our children and youth maintain the plaza and use it as venue for their football, basketball, volleyball and baseball games.

VMC constructed a fence around this area and denied our access to and use of the plaza, without any public hearing or public acceptability.

We brought this problem to the attention of Purisima Punong Barangay Cresencio Sombero and Manapla Mayor Manolet Escalante, but they took no action on our complaint.

We asked VMC to show us proof that they are the true owners of these lands. As far as we know, these lands already belong to the government. That’s why we took the courage to fight for our cause.

We want to know who really owns these lands. If VMC is the real owner of these lands, we dare them to show us proof that these lands really belong to them.

If they can prove that they own these lands, then we will leave this property. All we ask is that they observe due process in evicting us and they should provide us with a decent relocation facilities.

VMC Statement:

Certain areas in Manapla were zoned as commercial or industrial by proper authorities before the CARP law took effect in 1988, and this includes VMC’s distillery. So as ordered by the DAR in 2017 and 2019, the land where the VMC Manapla distillery is located has been ordered exempted from CARP.

There is no truth in the statement that the distillery is encroaching on other people’s properties. Nor has it received any payment from the Land Bank for said properties.* (Butch Bacaoco)