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Cellophil Resources Corporation (popularly known simply as Cellophil or CRC)[1] was a logging company which was granted a monopoly for logging operations in the Northern Luzon region of the Philippines during Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos.[2][3]

Owned by Marcos crony Herminio Disini, it is one of a handful of corporations considered collectively responsible for the massive deforestation in the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos' martial law regime.[4]

Indigenous peoples in the Cordillera region—supported by environmentalists, church organizations, academics, and the Free Legal Assistance Group—organized a protest movement that helped shut down Cellophil after the fall of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986.[5][6]

Background

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Martial law in Abra under Ferdinand Marcos

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Main articles: Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos, Human rights abuses of the Marcos dictatorship, and Deforestation in the Philippines during the Marcos dictatorship

The beginning months of the 1970s marked a period of turmoil and change in the Philippines, as well as in the province of Abra.[7] During his bid to be the first Philippine president to be re-elected for a second term, Ferdinand Marcos launched an unprecedented number of public works projects. This caused[8][9] the Philippine economy took a sudden downwards turn known as the 1969 Philippine balance of payments crisis, which in turn led to a period of economic difficulty and social unrest.[10][11] : "43" [12][13]

With only a year left in his last constitutionally allowed term as president Ferdinand Marcos placed the Philippines under Martial Law in September 1972 and thus retained the position for fourteen more years.[14] This period in Philippine history is remembered for the Marcos administration's record of human rights abuses.[15][16][17] In Abra, many of the victims were from the indigenous Itneg people (known then among most lowlanders as the Tingguian people, which is an exonym). Numerous human rights abuses against Itnegs were documented in the various Amnesty International missions which allowed to conduct investigations in the country after Marcos had to give in to political pressure.[18]

Monopolies

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Main article: Monopolies in the Philippines (1965–1986)

During the Marcos administration, select businesses were favored and patronized by Marcos, receiving financial support, sole patronage, tax exemptions, and control over entire industries rendering these businesses as monopolies.[19][2][20] Friends and relatives of Marcos acquired staggering wealth and economic power due to special favors and privileges extended by the administration.[21] While Marcos associates enjoyed government bailout even during the decline of their firms, other businesses suffered high taxes, sanctions, and other unjust treatments that forced them to close up, or to sell their shares. The majority of monopolies linked to Ferdinand Marcos are managed by his close associates, also regarded as cronies by critics.[22] Former First Lady Imelda Marcos insinuated that the Marcoses controlled the majority of the industries in the Philippines. In a 1988 interview, she stated, "We practically own everything in the Philippines—from electricity, telecommunications, airline, banking, beer and tobacco, newspaper publishing, television stations, shipping, oil and mining, hotels and beach resorts, down to coconut milling, small farms, real estate and insurance."[22]

Herminio Disini

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One of the individuals documented to be one of Marcos' cronies was Herminio Disini, who is noted for facilitating the bid of Westinghouse Electrical Corporation for the construction of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant in 1974, as well as his timber and pulpwood businesses in Abra and Kalinga-Apayao in Northern Luzon.[23]

Herminio Disini had close ties to both Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, as one of Ferdinand's golfing buddies, and as the husband of Imelda's personal physician and first cousin, Dr. Paciencia Escolin.[23]

One of the companies established by Disini was Philippine Tobacco Filters Corporation (PTFC). While Disini's investment in PTFC was minimal, Disini's big break came when Marcos issued Presidential Decree 750 on July 21, 1975, where it increased the tariff on raw materials imported by PTFC's competitor by a 100%. This forced the competitor out of business.[23]

Cellophil was another of Disini's companies in the logging and agriculture sector.[23]

Establishment

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Disini established Cellophil under Herdis group of companies in 1973, the year after Marcos' declaration of Martial Law.[1]

Using his political influence, Disini was able to get a 200,000 hectare logging and paper-pulp concession in Abra and Kalinga-Apayao[24] for Cellophil within the same year.[1][4]

This gave Cellophil the authority to exploit 99,565 hectares of pine trees within the area, despite violating two articles of the 1973 Constitution.[24] Articles II and XV of the Constitution provided that the "State shall respect the customs and traditions of cultural minorities and ensure their development as self-reliant communities."[25][26]

Another presidential decree banned all logging operations in the Ilocos region, except for Cellophil.[24]

Marcos also issued PD 410, declaring that ancestral lands should be cultivated and set aside for the exclusive use of indigenous peoples. However, the province of Abra was excluded from the decree, conveniently because Disini had his logging concessions there. [24]

Dispossession of Inidgenous Peoples' lands

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Hundreds of families and indigenous groups were evicted for the benefit of his company, backed by presidential degrees. [23]

Cellophil forcibly took 55 hectares of agricultural land in Northern Luzon, affecting not only the Tingguians but also the Kalingas and the Bontocs. Cellophil forced the farmers to sell their lands. In Gaddani, Tayum, farmers were forced to sell their lands at a price dictated by the Cellophil, and those refused had their crops bulldozed and their water supply cut off. Cellophil also threatened to acquire a presidential decree to confiscate the lands if the farmers refused to comply. The Tinggians organized to prepare to fight for their rights and their way of life. The government responded by imposing complete militarization in areas with logging activities.[27]

The Philippine Constabulary banned community meetings, declared that opposition to Cellophil activities were "anti-government" and "subversive", and forced people to work on community roads and bridges without pay. They were offered bribes to cease their protests, yet the tribes continued.[2]

Affected tribes called for a peace pact and drafted a resolution to Marcos, informing the President of Cellophil's refusal of a fair dialogue and their military harassment. They did not receive a reply, and Cellophil continued to destroy their ancestral domains.[6]

Hundreds of families and indigenous groups were evicted for the benefit of his company, backed by presidential degrees. [23]

Government bailouts

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In 1976, the Marcos administration gave cellophil a guarantee which allowed it to get a multi-million dolar loan from an international bank for a pulpmill.[1] Despite this, Cellophil could not produce pulp on a commercial scale.[1]

In 1978, Marcos bailed Cellophil's stakeholders out by divesting them of Cellophil stocks in favor of the state, effectively turning it into a state corporation.[1] Despite the infusion of capital from the government, and investing many millions of dollars in new French technology, Cellophil could still not produce pulp on a commercial scale.[1]

Community respinse and protests

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PD 410 raised fears among the Tinggians, the indigenous group whose ancestral land now being destroyed by Disini's loggers. The Tinggians petitioned Marcos for inclusion but they were snubbed. Disini's companies victimized the indigenous groups dwelling in his logging area. The Tinggians reported seeing roving jeeps of guards, and that their rice fields, pasture lands, and communal forests were usurped.

Its "rapid growth in the 70's was oustripped only by the ire of the people negatively affected by its operations." [1]

It ignited CPLA conflict[1]

Closure

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Unable to profit in the controversial environment, failed and closed.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bagadion, Benjamin Jr. (1991 Januar-December). THE RISE AND FALL OF A CRONY CORPORATION. Philippine Sociological Review. Vol. 39, No. 1/4. Philippine Sociological Society. pp. 24-29. https://www.jstor.org/stable/
  2. ^ a b c Ricardo., Manapat (1991). Some are smarter than others: the history of Marcos' crony capitalism. New York: Aletheia Publications. ISBN 9719128704. OCLC 28428684.
  3. ^ Dios, Aurora Javate de; Daroy, Petronilo Bn; Kalaw-Tirol, Lorna (1988). Dictatorship and Revolution: Roots of People's Power. Conspectus. ISBN 9789919108014.
  4. ^ a b "Green Devolution: Contradictions in the Marcos Environmental Agenda". Martial Law Museum. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  5. ^ "The Cordillera Resistance Against Chico Dam and Cellophil". Bantayog ng mga Bayani. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  6. ^ a b Garming, Maximo B. (1989). Towards Understanding the Cordillera Autonomous Region. Friedrich Ebert-Stiftung, Manila Office.
  7. ^ Robles, Raissa (2016). Marcos Martial Law: Never Again. Filipinos for a Better Philippines, Inc.
  8. ^ Balbosa, Joven Zamoras (1992). "IMF Stabilization Program and Economic Growth: The Case of the Philippines" (PDF). Journal of Philippine Development. XIX (35). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 21, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  9. ^ Balisacan, A. M.; Hill, Hal (2003). The Philippine Economy: Development, Policies, and Challenges. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195158984.
  10. ^ Cororaton, Cesar B. "Exchange Rate Movements in the Philippines". DPIDS Discussion Paper Series 97-05: 3, 19.
  11. ^ Kessler, Richard J. (1989). Rebellion and repression in the Philippines. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300044062. OCLC 19266663.
  12. ^ Celoza, Albert F. (1997). Ferdinand Marcos and the Philippines: The Political Economy of Authoritarianism. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780275941376.
  13. ^ Schirmer, Daniel B. (1987). The Philippines reader : a history of colonialism, neocolonialism, dictatorship, and resistance (1st ed.). Boston: South End Press. ISBN 0896082768. OCLC 14214735.
  14. ^ Magno, Alexander R., ed. (1998). "Democracy at the Crossroads". Kasaysayan, The Story of the Filipino People Volume 9:A Nation Reborn. Hong Kong: Asia Publishing Company Limited.
  15. ^ "Alfred McCoy, Dark Legacy: Human rights under the Marcos regime". Ateneo de Manila University. September 20, 1999.
  16. ^ Abinales, P.N.; Amoroso, Donna J. (2005). State and society in the Philippines. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-0742510234. OCLC 57452454.
  17. ^ "Gone too soon: 7 youth leaders killed under Martial Law". Rappler. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  18. ^ Pawilen, Reidan M. (May 2021). "The Solid North myth: an Investigation on the status of dissent and human rights during the Marcos Regime in Regions 1 and 2, 1969-1986". University of the Philippines Los Baños University Knowledge Digital Repository. Archived from the original on 2021-11-13. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  19. ^ Branigin, William (1986-03-28). "Marcos Circle Said to Skim $1 Billion From Sugar Sales". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  20. ^ "What Went Before: How Cojuangco acquired his UCPB shares". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 2013-07-11. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  21. ^ "The $10bn question: what happened to the Marcos millions? | World news | The Guardian". TheGuardian.com. 2016-05-08. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  22. ^ a b Roa, Ana (2014-09-29). "Regime of Marcoses, cronies, kleptocracy". Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  23. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference Manapat p.317-343 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ a b c d New Scientist. Reed Business Information. 1984-12-13.
  25. ^ "THE 1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES – ARTICLE II | GOVPH". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  26. ^ "THE 1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES – ARTICLE XV | GOVPH". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  27. ^ Dios, Aurora Javate de; Daroy, Petronilo Bn; Kalaw-Tirol, Lorna (1988). Dictatorship and Revolution: Roots of People's Power. Conspectus. ISBN 9789919108014.
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