Red strawberries paint joy to an antagonized IPRA

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March Fianza

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Once again, this town will open its doors to the public for a free taste of its sweet, red strawberries, strawberry wines, cakes and pastries during its annual Strawberry Festival that will run from March 18 to 31.

The main festival program will open on March 18 that will feature cultural presentations while the One Town-One Product (OTOP) will open at the Strawberry lane in the Municipal Park, with an Agro – Fair that will be launched at the La Trinidad Public Market.

My informant uncle Joseph Zambrano of PIA told me that the OTOP Strawberry Lane will showcase varieties of strawberry by-products such as cakes, pastries, bread, wine, shake, ice cream, preserves, soap and cosmetics, among others – certainly a must-see presentation.

There will also be contest to feature the “search for the biggest and sweetest strawberry” in the morning of the opening day, and search for the best and most unique OTOP, best strawberry pastry and best strawberry cake. A festival demo and contest on flower arrangement and landscaping will also be highlighted.

In the Agro – Fair, agricultural produce and cut-flowers of La Trinidad, as well as food and non-food booths will be opened. Both the strawberry lane and the agro fair will run until  March 31.

Other scheduled activities include concerts at the park (every Friday, Saturday, Sunday – 6:00pm); Photo Gallery, Art and Painting events at the Lednicky Hall and municipal grounds; A fun Run and Breakfast at the Park (Duting tan Dukto) in the morning of March 22 that will feature ‘camote’, Arabica coffee and strawberry; Strawberry Boxing at the BSU closed gym on Mar. 22 (6 pm); Search for Mr. and Ms Strawberry at 6pm of March 29 at the Municipal Gym; and the Strawberry Shoot Fest – Mayor’s Cup at Camp Dangwa on March 29 and 30.

There will also be a Jobs Fair on March 20 to 21 at the municipal gym; a Barangay Night on March 21 also at the municipal gym; and a Family Day on March 25 at the municipal park and gym.

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While we are high-spirited and in jovial mood following fiestas being launched one after the other, above us is the lingering fact that the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, the law that was crafted to give justice to tribal communities whose lands were unceremoniously grabbed from them, is being downplayed or attacked through the courts. There is quite a number of unsettled cases of land titles in Baguio and Benguet that were issued surreptitiously in the past but were upheld as “legal” even while these were obtained through legal maneuverings by moneyed and influential families from outside of the Cordillera.

There are cases that involved expanded titles over lands already occupied by indigenous tribes. Worst is that the land titles were issued over lands classified as “forest land” and to people who did not even have improvements on the lands and who never occupied the lands for a minute – three important requirements necessary in acquiring land titles. They do not even know where their claims are located but through research and with the assistance of “narcissist” legal luminaries, they were able to bypass the procedures.

Recently, the SC charged the Hearing Officer of the NCIP in the Cordillera for issuing TROs against the demolition of houses in the Busol Forest Reservation. While the Justices may have good reasons for their order, it has brought fear to the indigenous community that not even the courts that are supposedly mandated to uphold their rights cannot protect them.

With the recent decision and attack against the IPRA, it is not far that opportunists of IP lands may now get what they want. Land grabbing will be the breakfast for tomorrow. – ozram.666@gmail.com