In the remote reaches of southern Palawan, a 38-hectare island paradise is at the center of a brewing social conflict. Once home to nearly 200 families of mostly Molbog and Cagayanen descent, Mariahangin island’s population is rapidly declining. Nearly half of its original inhabitants have left, lured by an offer of relocation to other parts of the province. The holdouts of less than 90 families continue to stake their rights and claim over the island, fighting off a group of private individuals claiming to own the entire island.
Island residents have established a vigilante watch to prevent a private security company’s plan to deploy uniformed blue guards to the island. Whenever motorboats approach, residents swiftly mobilize, forming a human barricade along the beaches to block the “unwanted intruders” from setting foot on their shores.
On June 29, 2024, the security company JMV Securities launched an attempt to deploy approximately 80 of its personnel to Mariahangin Island. Residents confronted them on the beach, demanding their immediate departure. In the tense confrontation that followed, one of the guards fired upon the residents. No one was injured and the blue guards backed off.
The security company claimed it was hired by a group of private individuals who legally own the island. However, island residents disputed this, asserting that San Miguel Corporation (SMC) based in neighboring Bugsuk Island is planning to remove them from Mariahangin to clear the way for an ecotourism project.
In June 2023, SMC called for a village meeting with Mariahangin island residents to offer them relocation to other areas. Several families have since accepted the offer and departed, while many others resolved to stay at all costs, according to Molbog residents on the island.
SMC’s intentions in Mariahangin, if any, remain ambiguous, as the company has not responded to media inquiries for this report. Its subsidiary, Bricktree Development Corporation, is planning a luxury ecotourism resort on its Bugsuk Island property. However, Bricktree’s submissions to government regulatory agencies do not mention acquiring or developing Mariahangin.
According to a senior SMC official who asked not to be identified for this report, the Bugsuk ecotourism project has secured all required environmental permits and is finalizing design plans before commencing construction.
“The designs and plans (for the Bugsuk ecotourism project) are being finalized,” the official said.
For Christian (not his real name), a long-time resident of Mariahangin, leaving the place even with financial support from the company will deprive them of a reliable livelihood.
“Sandali lang mauubos ang perang ibibigay nila para umalis kami sa lugar na ito. Samantalang yung P400,000 na yun (referring to the company’s reported offer) madali lang kitain sa ikinabubuhay ng mga tiga-Mariahangin,” he said.
Caesar Ortega, claiming to represent Mariahangin landowners, filed a criminal complaint against 10 island residents following a confrontation on June 27, 2024. The prosecutor filed Ortega’s complaint with the Municipal Trial Court, resulting in the arrest of the accused on May 15, 2025.
The respondents secured their release by posting a bail of P36,000 each, which was raised from contributions from civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGO) support groups.
“I was pushed into the water and forcibly prevented from setting foot on the shore,” Ortega said, responding through Messenger app.
Angelica Nasiron, one of the 10 accused in the criminal case filed by Ortega, decried her inclusion along with another local leader in the complaint, claiming they were not even present during the confrontation.
“I was in Rio Tuba at that time, I wasn’t in Mariahangin. My inclusion in the charges, that the fiscal who handled the complaint upheld, is a clear form of harassment,” Nasiron said in Filipino.
SMC released a statement denying any role in the incident.
“San Miguel Corporation strongly denies any involvement in the recent incident on Maria Hangin (Mariahangin) Island, where it was alleged that unidentified armed men indiscriminately fired guns. SMC has no connection whatsoever with those involved in the incident, nor does it own any property on the island for future development,” SMC said.
SMC has kept mum about the June 22, 2023 meeting with Mariahangin residents where its special projects officer, lawyer Michaella Rosales, presented the company’s relocation offer to the residents with a financial compensation package reportedly ranging from P75,000 to P100,000 per family.
According to local residents, the amount has since increased to a high of P400,000 per family.
On June 27, 2024, officials of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and Ortega arrived on the island to present the department ruling that removes Mariahangin from the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) coverage. Video clips and photographs showed Rosales was part of the delegation.
They were met by angry islanders in waist deep waters off the shore who demanded that they leave. SMC confirmed in a chat interview that the presenter was Rosales.
Indigenous land claims
The Molbog and Cagayanen tribes of Mariahangin have applied for an ancestral domain title over the island as early as 2005. Their application has not been acted upon by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).
Earlier reports have quoted NCIP officials as saying that they have no funds available to conduct the validation process of the IP claim, a prerequisite for the grant of a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT).
The island residents’ parallel efforts to acquire the land under the government’s agrarian reform program were recently ruled out by the DAR.
Acting on a petition filed by a group of individuals in 2023, DAR removed Mariahangin from CARP coverage, reversing its previous classification done by the Aquino administration.
The residents have sought the support of civil society and the Catholic Church in their efforts to stop the occupation of their island by outsiders. On April 10, 2025, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) issued a statement expressing solidarity with the indigenous peoples and residents of Mariahangin and condemning the “unjust displacement and harassment.”
Palawan’s Bishop Socrates Mesiona also visited the community to express his support.
“We are on a 24/7 watch and we will not leave this place because this is our ancestral home,” said Richard, a resident.
Historical injustice
The Mariahangin conflict is deeply rooted in the historical narrative of displacement faced by Balabac’s indigenous tribes since the martial law era under President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
In 1974, Marcos awarded 10,821 hectares of ancestral land in Bugsuk and Pandanan Islands to Eduardo Danding Cojuangco Jr., then CEO of SMC, as part of a land swap deal. The Philippine Constabulary forcibly evicted residents, with many relocated to other islands. The land was used to establish a nursery for hybrid coconut trees.
Mariahangin was not included in the land acquisitions of Cojuangco and became a refuge for those who had nowhere else to go.
In 1979, Cojuangco partnered with French businessman Jacques Branellec to establish Jewelmer Corporation, which set up a pearl farm in the ancestral waters surrounding Bugsuk. The farm has restricted public access to traditional navigational routes of the local communities.
Government action
In 2014, the DAR issued a Notice of Coverage (NOC) under CARP, recognizing the potential for land distribution to Mariahangin residents.
However, in May 2023, DAR Region IV-B director revoked the NOC, citing that the island’s soil is unsuitable for crop production. This decision was affirmed by DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III in September 2023, exempting 10,821 hectares in Bugsuk and Mariahangin from CARP coverage.
The timing and circumstances of the DAR’s decision have raised suspicions among the island residents, even as they insisted that Mariahangin is agricultural, with seaweed farming and crop cultivation sustaining their livelihoods.
Advocacy groups rooting for the Mariahangin residents have also criticized the Philippine National Police for its slow response to the June 29, 2024 shooting incident. Christian claimed that the PNP officers who arrived to investigate, at the instigation of the Commission of Human Rights (CHR), even assisted the shooter to leave the island and cool off somewhere.
The suspect was eventually charged in court by the local police.
The Players
The situation in Mariahangin Island pits the Molbog and Cagayanen tribal residents against the security company that Ortega said he hired on behalf of his clients.
Tensions flared on June 27, 2024 , when Mariahangin residents prevented Ortega, accompanied by DAR representatives, from setting foot on the island. Two days later, on June 29, 2024, one of the masked armed guards fired warning shots to ward off the residents. Since then, residents have maintained a 24/7 vigil to guard their shores, reporting ongoing harassment to the media using the internet.
Ortega has filed grave coercion charges against 10 community leaders. The criminal complaint was endorsed by the provincial prosecution office, leading to the issuance of a warrant of arrest.
In an interview, the CHR in Puerto Princesa City expressed surprise at the prosecutor’s determination of “likelihood of conviction” in the case that led to its filing.
Atty. Caesar M. Ortega
Ortega, a former director of the NCIP’s Ancestral Domain Office, has emerged as a central figure in the dispute. Ortega insisted in a chat interview that he is the authorized representative of nine landowners who have legal titles to Mariahangin.
His ties, if any, to SMC and its subsidiary, Bricktree Properties Inc., remain vague. An undated open-source photo shows Ortega with SMC President and CEO Ramon Ang. When asked to comment on the photo, Ortega dismissed it as “an old photo.” SMC also did not comment on the photograph.
As to who funds the services of the security guards from JMV Security Services and the resettlement offers of up to P400,000 per family, Ortega maintained that his clients, the landowners, are covering these costs.
When asked why the landowners have not pursued legal action to evict residents instead of an extrajudicial approach of pitting armed security guards against the residents, Ortega said litigation is “too expensive.”
Landowners
The nine landowners that Ortega claims to represent remain unknown to Mariahangin residents. Open-source information indicates that they are the same nine individuals who successfully petitioned the DAR in 2023 to exempt Mariahangin from the CARP coverage, a decision that revoked a 2014 Notice of Coverage recognizing the residents’ land rights.
The social media profile of one of the petitioners contains a congratulatory birthday message to Ang, addressing him as “boss.” SMC did not reply to a request for comment on the screenshot of the social media post.
Mariahangin residents
At the core of the resistance in the island are at least three indigenous families who have lived on Mariahangin for generations, primarily relying on fishing and agar-agar (seaweed) farming for their livelihood. These families, part of the Molbog and Cagayanen communities, have been pursuing a CADT since 2005 to secure a 10,821-hectare ancestral domain, including Mariahangin.
Fearing harassment, they declined to be quoted directly but vowed to remain on their land, rejecting monetary offers for relocation.
Through the Sambilog-Balik Bugsuk Movement, they accused Ortega of acting as an agent for SMC, believing that the conglomerate is orchestrating the intimidation to clear the island for development. Their protest included a nine-day hunger strike in December 2024 outside the DAR office in Quezon City.
Bricktree Properties Inc.
Bricktree Properties Inc., a subsidiary of SMC, is developing a 5,567.54-hectare ecotourism resort on nearby Bugsuk Island, featuring an airstrip, resort facilities, and infrastructure set for completion by 2028.
Despite its proximity to Mariahangin, Bricktree has maintained a low profile since the conflict began in June 2024, ignoring repeated press inquiries for this report, coursed through its mother company.
Corporate filings of Bricktree with the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained for this report indicate that Bricktree and SMC have interlocking directorates. SMC Holdings also acknowledged that Bricktree is its subsidiary company.
During a January 9, 2025 technical conference with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in MIMAROPA (Region 4B), Bricktree pointed out that their project is limited to Bugsuk Island.
Retrieved open source information for this report showed that Bricktree is involved in the relocation of an estimated 60 Mariahangin families in Barangay Litason in coordination with the municipality of Bataraza, providing the community with potable water supply, solar power kits for the relocated households and a multipurpose hall named Bricktree Multi-Purpose Hall.
A video recording of a meeting held at the multi-purpose hall showed an unidentified official explaining the benefits brought by the company to the relocation site. Reverse imaging analysis undertaken for this report also showed that SMC special projects manager, lawyer Michaella Rosales, was present during the meeting.
SMC stance
SMC, which claims to own some 7,000 hectares of titled property on Bugsuk Island acquired through companies holding titles since 1974, has repeatedly denied any involvement in Mariahangin. SMC has declared in a statement that it has no property holdings or future development plans for Mariahangin.
Residents, however, claimed that SMC has interest in Mariahangin, pointing to the video recording of a DAR-facilitated meeting where an SMC official offered them relocation and financial assistance. SMC did not respond when presented with a video recording of the meeting, including other open-source information contradicting its official statement.
The confrontation on the beach of Mariahangin between Ortega’s group and the island residents on June 27, 2024 — two days before the shooting incident involving JMV security guards — was recorded by several residents on their mobile phones and posted on social media.
The photos and footage show Rosales being part of the group. The SMC official interviewed for this report confirmed that Rosales was on the boat and part of Ortega’s group.
Reacting to the June 29, 2024 incident where a security guard opened fire on the residents, DAR said it “coordinated with SMC” and the local government to obtain a clearance to enter and exit the island. SMC did not comment on the DAR statement.
The CHR said it was exploring ways “to engage with the representatives of the company” for the withdrawal of their security personnel from the island. SMC did not comment on the CHR statement. — PCIJ.org
