Zamboanga canning factory told to stop development of rice field

ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Department of Agrarian Reform in Western Mindanao has ordered a canning factory in Zamboanga City to cease its on-going development of a rice field on a village after it started filling it with earth.

DAR Regional Director Julita Ragandang has also written Rowell Can Corporation ordering it to stop all development in Talisayan village after farmers complained that it has allegedly affected their farms.

The City Council has passed a resolution reclassifying agricultural lands in the village into industrial lands, but Ragandang said re-classification of agricultural lands does not automatically convert it into industrial lands. “I would like to emphasize with you that re-classification is not conversion,” she said.

Ragandang explained that “re-classification” is the act of apportioning lands how it should be use while “conversion” is the actual change of the physical use of the land.

“Even if the local government has already reclassified it, but still the process of conversion should be done,” Ragandang said.

She said DAR has exclusive authority to approve or disapprove the conversion of agricultural plans for residential, commercial, industrial and other land use as maybe provided by law. Land owners, she said, still required by law to go to the process of land use conversion and complied with the requirements before he can use his land for that purposes.

“Even if they were already classified, they should still get permission from us,” Ragandang said.

The National Irrigation Administration also has an on-going project in the area that will benefit farm owners and any industrial activity there could affect the government irrigation in the village.

There was no immediate statement from Rowell Can Corporation on Ragandang’s order.