DENR: Motion for reconsideration on cancelled pact with Socorro 'cult' denied

All motions for reconsideration aimed at appealing the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' (DENR) cancellation of Protected Area Community-Based Resource Management Agreement (PACBRMA) with Socorro Bayanihan Services Inc. (SBSI) have been denied.

This was disclosed by the DENR during the continuation of the Senate plenary deliberations on the proposed 2025 national budget through their budget sponsor, Senator Cynthia Villar.

"'Yung motion(s) for reconsideration are all denied and they are doing a relocation. They have identified a relocation site in Barangay Nueva Estrella, Socorro lowland," Villar said upon the interpellation of Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, who led the investigation into the alleged cult in Socorro in Surigao del Norte.

According to Villar, 108 families have volunteered to go down from Sitio Kapihan which was located in the mountainous portion of Socorro.

Their new location is a privately-owned property.

Meanwhile, Villar said 464 families have yet to relocate as they are still waiting for the complete acquisition of the private land.

"'Yung 108 daw nag-volunteer na bumaba, but 'yung 464, naghahanap pa ng lilipatan pero kung mabili na ito, lilipat na sila doon," Villar said.

Asked why the 464 are not reintegrated to their former communities, Villar said these families cannot go back to their old locations because they have already sold their properties before joining SBSI in Sitio Kapihan.

Apart from the DENR, Villar said they are working with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Education, Philippine National Police and the Department of Health for the families' reintegration.

In April this year, the DENR announced the cancellation of its PACBRMA with SBSI in managing a part of a protected area in Socorro, Surigao del Norte and ordered its closure.

According to the DENR, Socorro group’s Protected Area Community-Based Resource Management Agreement (PACBRMA) has been canceled due to the following reasons:

• establishment of settlement/residence in the protected area;
• establishment of checkpoints strictly regulating the entry of people;
• failure to submit monthly, quarterly or annual report; and
• establishment of infrastructures that are not in the plan like new access roads, basketball court, wave pool, recording studio, radio station, among others.

A PACBRMA is a legal instrument between the DENR and tenured migrant groups to develop and conserve a portion of a protected area for 25 years, the department said.

In 2019, the DENR started its investigation into the group due to violations of the agreement.

In September last year, the DENR said it had suspended its agreement with the SBSI in managing a part of the protected area in Surigao del Norte. The agency added that it was investigating possible violations of the group on the terms and conditions of the PACBRMA.

A Senate committee meanwhile conducted a hearing on the alleged abuse and illegal activities of the supposed cult SBSI.

Hontiveros previously revealed in a privilege speech the existence of the supposed religious “cult” nestled in an enclosed and heavily guarded area at Sitio Kapihan, a mountainous portion of Socorro town.

Hontiveros said the Senate received “alarming” reports of alleged rape, sexual abuse, forced labor, and forced marriage of minors in SBSI.

The group was a people’s organization with 3,560 members including 1,587 children, according to Hontiveros. — BAP, GMA Integrated News