LOS BANOS, Laguna—Peasant communities of Barangay Bagong Silang (or in Tagalog, "New Born") of this town has long been clamoring the University of the Philippines-Los Banos (UPLB) administration to allow them to build their houses within Mount Makiling, one of the province's protected forest reserve.

Question of Governance
Florencio Dalma, a 57-year old farmer, has been planting coconut and fruit trees for a living in Bagong Silang since 1982.

But in 1989, he was charged by the UPLB administration with illegal construction before the Regional Trial Court of Calamba after they've found out that he had erected a nipa hut in a so-called restricted area.

"At first, they did not warn me. But when they saw my hut finished, they've told me that what I did was illegal," Dalma recalls. "The court's decision ordered me to demolish the house, vacate the vicinity and pay for a fine of 500 pesos."

In an interview, he said his three sons were also charged with the very same offense in 1998, two of which were dismissed.

UPLB claims that the area inhabited by Dalma together with some 143 families are part of Makiling's forest reserve under the management of the university. But official records from the local government prove otherwise.

In 1972, Bagong Silang was created a barangay based on the Integrated Development Plan of Los Banos. It is considered as the town's largest, having a total land area of 514.11 hectares.

A mutual agreement was marked between the community and the administration of former Chancellor Dr. Ruben Aspiras in the 1970s stating that the university and the farmers should work together in protecting the mountain. This according to Emerson Jacinto, head of the Appropriate Technology Center for Rural Development (ATCRD), a non-governmental organization assisting the farmers.

"But under the current administration of Chancellor Wilfredo David, delivery of basic services have gone poor. Water and electricity services are scant. Before anything is to be done, barangay officials had to wait for UPLB's approval," Jacinto said.

Undermining Rights
However, one of the community's lingering hitches was the issuance by Chancellor David of Memorandum No. 080 in 1998, an edict prohibiting anyone to put up any form of structure within the forest reserve. This order, critics say, undermines the people's right to abode under the guise of preserving the mountain from environmental degradation.

"Why are they prohibiting the people to build our houses when this area is a legitimate barangay?" asks Dalma, who also chairs the Kaisahan ng mga Magsasaka sa Bundok Makiling (KASAMA), a local farmer's group. "All these years, we've been helping the university monitor any activities by illegal loggers. Now, they want us to leave the mountain. It's aching that we are treated as squatters in our own home," he stressed.

Last August 6, KASAMA together with sympathizers staged a protest action in front of the university administration's office. Despite several invitations, David did not sit down with the farmers for a dialogue.

The Youth Initiate
Last September 29, the youth of Bagong Silang launched their first leadership training seminar at the Multipurpose Hall of the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ERDB-DENR) in cooperation with KASAMA and the ATCRD.

Jane Maloles, chair of Kabalikat sa Bagong Pag-asa ng Bundok Makiling (Kabalikat), a youth club dedicated to the conservation of the mountain, recalled how she was inspired by the relentless struggle of the farmers. "Since August, I conceived the idea of organizing my fellow youth so that we can be able to help our families who are poor. Originally, there were seven whom I talked with regarding this matter."

An out-of-school youth, 23-year-old Jane was born and raised by a peasant family who plants root crops inside the forest reserve.

"We want an association whose mission is to serve primarily the youth's and people's interests and not become a mere instrument by politicians," Maloles said in Filipino. "Ayaw namin sa pulitiko kasi, sa palagay ko, doon masisira ang samahan."

According to her, Kabalikat now has 37 members whose ages range from 12 to 30.

Recently, the youth association joined tree-planting programs in the mountain together with the farmers.

"We are also planning to establish a cooperative to improve the water system since we're having difficulty getting water from the springs," she said, adding that they're also seeking donors to finance an education and scholarship program for children.

When asked what they want UPLB to do with them, she said, "I hope Mr. David would finally talk with the farmers and not be afraid to face his responsibilities."

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Dennis is a news writer for Balikas, a Filipino weekly environmental and social justice newspaper in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) area.

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