Can the Wrongs be Righted? Prospects for Remedy in the Philippine Oil Palm Agro-industry
We thank all contributors to this study in Palawan who showed trust in our work and shared their insights and experiences. For assistance in organizing field trips, we direct a warm note of gratitude to Ms Mercedes Limsa and Mr Johnmart of the United Tribes of Palawan. At the Palawan State University, we also thank President Jeter Sespeňe for supporting this study; Dr Daphne Mallari of the Research Office for her operational support; and Mr Jog-Jog Gabuco for driving us around safely. Special thanks also go to Provincial Board Member Mr Jay Rodriguez for his support. In finalizing this manuscript, we are grateful for the constructive comments from two anonymous reviewers as well as SEI-Asia colleague Albert Salamanca. This study was funded by the Swedish research council Formas (grant no. 2012-1453), with counterpart contributions from the Palawan State University.
ABSTRACT
State-based and corporate remedies are increasingly offered as solutions to intractable issues provoked by land-based investments, such as the oil palm agro-industry. This article critiques this shift towards procedural governance fixes, drawing on theories of the legitimizing function of corporate responsibility and mechanisms of elite capture in agrarian states. The authors contrast the ambition of remedy with local reality in one controversial oil palm project in Palawan Province, the Philippines, showing that it was operated by companies, banks, agencies and politicians who either lacked the capacity to rein in the project once it became evident that it was causing harm to farmers, or showed no interest in doing so. As one of the first detailed examinations of the growing oil palm sector in the Philippines, the study adds to understandings of the shifting nature of elite capture through transnational agro-industry. It also shows that the remedies discourse remains rooted in colonial doctrines and neoliberal constructs and thus tends to deflect attention away from more appropriate harm prevention strategies. The authors argue that functional remedies will only arise once states and companies confront competing land and resource claims and relinquish more control over new procedures to local and indigenous communities.
