Farmers and indigenous communities in the Cordillera region are escalating their fight against rampant landgrabbing and the plunder of natural resources by corporate interests. According to the Alyansa Dagiti Pesante Ti Taeng Kordilyera (APIT TAKO, KMP’s regional chapter in the Cordillera Administrative Region said the region’s heavily ridged terrain, home to vast ancestral lands and self-sustaining agricultural systems, is under constant threat from large-scale mining, energy, and infrastructure projects that imperil their livelihoods, ecosystems, and cultural heritage.
“Farmers and indigenous peoples in the Cordillera are intensifying their fight against landgrabbing and resource exploitation by corporations. Farmers are resisting this feudal and semi-feudal system, defending their lands from corporate encroachment and neoliberal policies,” according to KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos.
Local farmers, particularly from indigenous groups, are organizing to defend their territories against corporate intrusion. Neoliberal policies and market manipulation of prices of agricultural inputs and produce have left these communities vulnerable, with land-grabbing exacerbating their struggle to remain self-reliant.
Big corporations are targeting Cordillera’s resources under the guise of “renewable energy.” Mining, hydropower, geothermal, and wind projects by companies like San Miguel Corp., Nickel Asia, and Aboitiz have met strong local resistance due to the environmental destruction and displacement they cause.
The insidious nature of these projects hides behind the veneer of sustainable energy, while local communities bear the brunt of environmental destruction and displacement. APIT TAKO said the following projects threaten farmers and indigenous population in the region:
> Mining Applications: British-owned metals exploration companies are targeting municipalities in Kalinga, Abra, and Nueva Vizcaya, while Australian company Celsius Resources operates near the Batong Buhay mine in Kalinga. Nickel Asia, in partnership with Japanese corporations, plans to exploit areas across Benguet, Ilocos Sur, and Mountain Province.
> Hydropower Projects: There are currently 100 hydropower projects planned across key rivers, threatening to submerge thousands of hectares of farmland and displace indigenous peoples from their homes.
> Geothermal and Wind Power: Proposed geothermal fields spanning up to 40,000 hectares will devastate ecosystems across Kalinga, Mountain Province, Benguet, and Ifugao. At the same time, wind power projects seek to install 41 turbines across the North Central Cordillera Key Biodiversity Area, disrupting agro-ecosystems and threatening wildlife.
Communities resisting corporate projects face increased state repression, including military violence, extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, and arrests. Despite this, farmers and indigenous groups remain steadfast, calling for broader solidarity in their fight for land and justice.
“This October Peasant and Indigenous People’s month, the farmers and indigenous peoples of Cordillera remain undeterred in their defense of ancestral lands, organizing in their region and calling on broader sectors to join the resistance against corporate exploitation and state violence,” KMP and APIT TAKO concluded. ###
updates from the peasant movement of the Philippines 