Indigenous communities and local residents in Sitio Mariahangin in the village of Bugsuk (also called Mariahangin Island) are raising urgent concerns over what they describe as systematic harassment, displacement, and human rights violations tied to a controversial land dispute that reportedly involves corporate giant San Miguel Corporation (SMC).
Bugsuk village is located on a small island in the municipality of Balabac in the province of Palawan.
Balabac has a history of displacement dating back to the martial law period of former president and ex-dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. In 1974, he granted 10,821 hectares of ancestral land on Bugsuk and Pandanan Islands to Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr., then CEO of SMC, through a land swap agreement.
Sitio Mariahangin is home to the Molbog and Cagayanen indigenous peoples. It has become the site of escalating tensions over alleged plans to develop the area into an eco-tourism site.
In 2023, SMC, through its “Malasakit Program ni Ramon S. Ang,” reportedly began offering relocation payments to residents in exchange for vacating the island. While some families were allegedly promised as much as 400,000 Pesos, many reportedly receivedsignificantly less – often without formal documentation.
SMC has publicly stated that it holds no property in Mariahangin and has no plans for future development in the area. However, residents dispute this claim, citing a video of a Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) facilitated meeting in which an SMC representative allegedly offered them relocation and financial aid. When confronted with the video and other publicly available information that contradicts its official statement, SMC did not issue a response.
Nearly half of Mariahangin’s original 200 families have left, citing mounting pressure and relocation offers. Relocated families now live in Litason on mainland Palawan, a site reportedly funded by a subsidiary company of SMC Holdings. They now complain that the area lacks basic infrastructure and cuts them off from their traditional fishing and farming activities. Some say they were pressured into demolishing ancestral homes and accepting partial payouts with no livelihood support.
Some 90 families still live in Mariahangin, refusing to leave what they consider as their ancestral home. “You can be poor, but you’ll never go hungry here,” said community leader Jilmani Naseron. Residents sustain themselves through fishing, agar-agar (seaweed) farming, and cultivating vegetables and rice, getting nourishment from the land and sea.
However, increased human rights violations, including more intrusions, fabricated charges, and harassment of the remaining families have been reported in recent months. In May 2025, ten community members were arrested on “grave coercion” charges and released a few days later. Among the accused was community leader Angelica Nasiron, who was additionally charged with cyber libel and arrested last month. 64-year-old community leader Oscar Pelayo Sr. remains detained since May for a 2006 illegal fishing case, in which, according to his family, evidence was allegedly planted.
Mariahangin residents feared JMV Security guards, reportedly deployed to the village by SMC’s subsidiary Bricktree Properties. The guards were sent by lawyer Ceasar Ortega, who claims to represent a group of alleged land owners in Mariahangin. Reports say armed security agents have continuously been harassing the community since more than a year. 80 additional guards entered the community on April 4, 2025, joining the original 16 already stationed in the village. More than a month later, on May 18, another 40-armed guards arrived.
Mariahangin families took turns staying awake to monitor their shores, resorting to 24/7 beach patrols. Determined to protect their community, they have formed human barricades to keep what they call “unwanted intruders” off their territory. It is believed that SMC has been pushing these kinds of intimidation tactics to force residents off the island for development.
In a legal setback, a Muntinlupa City court dismissed in June 2025 a petition filed by Molbog community leaders seeking a Temporary Restraining Order against security guards from JMV Security Services. The court cited jurisdictional issues and questioned the community’s legal claim to the land, pointing to a 2024 certificate declaring the island private property.
On August 1, 2025, the hired guards left the island after the residents came to a settlement with the security agency, coordinated by Palawan 2nd District Representative Jose C. Alvarez. A day later, however, several men were reportedly stationed again on the island.
In December 2024, the Molbog community’s resistance gained national attention when residents staged a nine-day hunger strike at the DAR headquarters in Quezon City. This occurred after the notice of coverage of the land under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) was suddenly cancelled in September 2023, reversing the previous classification. The DAR decision argued that the land was not suitable for agriculture.
Persistent fear and tension have disrupted the daily lives of Mariahangin residents.
The Molbog community has inhabited the region for generations and formally applied for recognition of their ancestral domain in 2005. However, their Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) remains pending with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), leaving them in a state of legal uncertainty and vulnerable to land encroachment.
The SAMBILOG-Balik Bugsuk Movement condemned the ongoing intimidation targeting the residents and called for immediate government intervention together with local clergy and civil society organizations.
Photo © Hannah Wolf