Farmers decry 99-year land lease and foreign forestry deals: Marcos Jr. turning PH lands into corporate enclaves

Days ahead of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) denounced the bicameral approval of the 99-year land lease bill, a move the group calls a blatant sellout of Philippine land and patrimony.

The bicameral conference committee approved the consolidated version of House Bill 10755 and Senate Bill 2898, amending the Investors’ Lease Act (RA 7652) to extend the maximum lease period for foreign entities from 75 to 99 years. The bill now awaits the President’s signature or veto.

KMP also condemned the Marcos administration’s aggressive push to offer over 40,000 forest lands under the Sustainable Forest Land Management Program (SFLMP), warning that such measures will deepen landlessness and worsen the country’s food insecurity.

“These policies represent a full-scale surrender of the country’s natural wealth to big business and foreign interests. Filipino farmers are being pushed further into the margins while the state fast-tracks corporate land control,” said Danilo Ramos, KMP Chairperson.

The group emphasized that the amended lease provision which applies to industrial, agro-industrial, tourism, commercial, agricultural, agroforestry, and so-called ecological conservation projects effectively legalizes long-term land-grabbing. The SFLMP under the broader Foreign Industry Roadmap (FIRM) encourages local and foreign investments in forestland rehabilitation and reforestation initiatives.

“This is legalized land-grabbing. Marcos Jr. is using the rhetoric of green investments to disguise the wholesale of our land to foreign corporations,” Ramos said. “The 99-year lease and the 40,000-hectare forestry scheme are two sides of the same coin: both will intensify landlessness, displace rural communities, and destroy our already fragile food system.”

“This is the clearest proof that Marcos Jr. is the chief representative of landlords and oligarchs. These policies will evict farmers and indigenous peoples and worsen land monopoly in the country.” KMP also warned that these policies will accelerate the conversion of food-producing lands into industrial, real estate, and extractive zones, weakening local food production and worsening rural unemployment and hunger.

Under the guise of attracting investment and promoting so-called “green development,” the Marcos government is enforcing land-use policies that exclude the farmers and indigenous people who cultivate the land while enriching corporations and political dynasties.

Ramos also slammed business groups that hailed the land lease expansion as “game-changing,” saying such praise comes from those who see land as a commodity and not as a lifeline for millions of rural Filipinos.

“What is truly “game-changing” is the level of betrayal these policies represent,” Ramos said. “These policies are direct attacks on the historic demand for genuine agrarian reform and social justice. Foreign corporations will be allowed to control our land for longer than Filipinos’ lifespan. Ang ibinibenta ng gobyernong Marcos Jr. ay mga lupaing bumubuhay sa mga Pilipino.”

KMP is calling for the outright rejection of the 99-year land lease bill and the immediate cancellation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) forestry investment program. The group vowed to highlight these issues in the upcoming People’s SONA broad mobilization on July 28. ###