MAPARBEMPCO

During the 1970's, a land dispute between First Southern Land and the residents of Barangay Mapantig occurred. First Southern Land occupied all available tracts of land to the consternation of the residents of the area. People were driven away from their farms and some were even taken to court and imprisoned.

Upon facing serious resistance from the company, the villagers gave up and some even moved to different locales in order to survive when the land was taken from them. 

When the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform programme was implemented during the presidency of Corazon Aquino, the villagers saw an opportunity arising to get back their land. 

However, the company applied for a deferment of 10 years which delayed further the implementation of the land reform programme. Finally in 1998, the Department of Agriculture decreed that the land being occupied by the Kenram Estate (the name of the plantation) would be subjected to agrarian reform. The residents who were both Christian and Muslim organized with the help of the Rural Development Institute of Sultan Kudrat formed the Mapantig Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MAPARBEMPCO) on August 11 of the same year.

Although not every resident of the  barangay were enthusiastic about the proposal, 295 decided to join the effort. It was also an effort to alleviate the poverty and be empowered by the process. 

MAPARBEMPCO engaged the assistance of various government and non-government entities in their quest to gain their land from the company. One of the challenges they faced during the process was to choose between several options. They were as follows:-

a) A lease back scheme 

b) Contract growing

c) Joint venture plan

d) Complete take over

The cooperative decided on the fourth option and has not regretted the decision since. This was decided during their general assembly held on 15 November 1998 where an overwhelming majority voted in favour of full ownership as well as complete take-over of the land.

On April 2002, the government through the Department of Agrarian Reform, fully awarded the 556.56 hectares of land planted with oil palm to the cooperative by way of the Voluntary Offer to Sell scheme. 

As of 2011 MAPARBEMPCO members and dependents comprise almost half of Mapantig's population. Employing 103 regular workers and 30 seasonal workers, excluding management and staff, the cooperative has provided substantial economic gains both for members and those who are not. Former seasonal farm workers, or what they call locally as 'manug-garab', are now employees of the cooperative. 

The Kenram-Mapantig plantation makes 60 million pesos, MAPARBEMPCO provides job opportunities as well as cooperative benefits for all members.