This study aims to describe and analyze the social impact indicators (adopted from World Bank, 2003) in the ABERDI oil palm plantation communities in Opol, Misamis Oriental and Impasug-ong, Bukidnon, Northern Mindanao.

Specifically, this study aims to achieve the following objectives:
1.To determine the socio-demographic profiles of the affected indigenous communities in the ABERDI oil palm plantation communities.
2.To describe the gender roles among the affected indigenous male and female farmers and farmworkers
3.To describe the rules and behavior of formal and informal groups in the affected communities.
4.To conduct a stakeholder analysis of various groups directly or indirectly involved with the ABERDI oil palm plantation operations, focusing on the following:
a. Characteristics
b. Interests
c. Opportunities and conditions for participation
d. Likely influence
5.To describe the environmental/social risks experienced by the affected indigenous farmers and farmworkers.
a. political economy risks
b. institutional risks
c. vulnerability risks
[Jan. 2012]

Due to an ever increasing global demand in the recent years, the rapid expansion of oil palm plantations in Southeast Asia, particularly in Malaysia and Indonesia, has prompted significant alarm in its adverse impacts on the environment, and on the economic, socio-cultural, civil, and political rights of small famers and indigenous peoples. The Philippines, a relatively new player in this industry, has been cultivating and processing palm oil for the past thirty years in an attempt to address domestic unemployment and widespread poverty. This study describes the social and environmental impacts of the oil palm expansion in three indigenous villages in two provinces Northern Mindanao, Philippines through participant observation at the plantations, secondary data analysis, and gender disaggregated in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with affected farmers, plantation workers, and involved government officials.

This study has found that the affected villages have been inhabited by indigenous peoples who have resided in the area since the pre-Spanish colonization era. Decades of logging and land grabbing by local landlords have transformed most of their ancestral lands to pasture and agricultural lands and have led to the deterioration of their indigenous practices. The entry of the oil palm plantations have been added to their history of marginalization.

The case of the oil palm expansion in Opol, Misamis Oriental and Impasugong, Bukidnon are cases wherein forest lands that could be awarded to farmers are allocated instead for oil palm plantation development. Laws of Philippine government agencies, particularly the Department of Environment and Resources, have facilitated the transfer of public lands for oil palm plantation development through classifying them as forest areas with existing tenurial agreements. Land acquisition for the oil palm plantation investors is facilitated by the Department of Agrarian Reform through leaseback, joint ventures, and contract growing arrangements.

In light of existing laws that favor oil palm investors, the interplay of stakeholders in related literature and in this study have shown a consistent trend of deceptive and lopsided land acquisition agreements and unfair labour practices by the companies with the beneficiaries in order to maximize profit. Decision-makers, particularly government agencies and local government, also play a part in supporting and perpetuating these imbalanced relations through their inaction in issues raised by beneficiaries. Thus beneficiaries bear the brunt of social costs of expansion activities while benefits are skewed in favor of the investors. Yet a good potential among beneficiaries in case studies in Southern Mindanao was found that challenges can be surmounted in a market-led land reform if there is a convergence of grassroots movement and government action that cushion against pressures posed by transnational companies and landowners within commercial farms.

In addition to the imbalance of relationships among major stakeholders, gender inequality in the oil palm plantations was revealed as the very limited to absent productive and community management roles of women. Women are stereotyped and discriminated as less productive workers compared to men, thus their exclusion in the plantation's labour force. Women are also not included in the decision making of the village and community organizations activities. Women are overburdened by their reproductive roles due to the limited to absent engagement of men in domestic work. Women become multiple burdened when they happen to also work in the farms or oil palm plantations since, the quantity and quality of their domestic work remains the same. Thus, it is not surprising that gender inequality is very much present in the oil palm plantations but it is quite significant to note from this study's findings that the current conditions in the area aggravate this problem

The impacts of the entry of A Brown, especially in the case of Opol, has mainly driven away farmers and indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands and has lost their source of livelihood. Tied to these main impacts are violations on the villagers' economic and socio-cultural rights as well as their civil and political rights. There has been the violation of the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) as mandated by the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, and the destruction of sites sacred to the indigenous peoples of Opol. The villages' environment needs clean up and rehabilitation from the contamination of banned agro-chemicals. Cases of human rights violations (HRVs) in Opol have been documented and the villagers call for the punishment of the perpetrators (including A Brown Company guards, local government officials, and law enforcement agents).
The experience in the oil palm expansion areas in selected villages in Northern Mindanao mirrors the adverse impacts on the environment, and on the economic, socio-cultural, civil, and political rights of small famers and indigenous peoples in other parts of the Philippines and in the numerous cases in Malaysia and Indonesia. Land and resource state policy frameworks and legislation are generally supportive to oil palm development, but are often conflicting with environmental laws and indigenous peoples' rights for they overlap with other land uses such as ancestral domain, agricultural land for, forest and protected areas. In light of these findings, the Philippine palm oil industry thus remains challenged in its promise to address domestic unemployment and local poverty particularly in Mindanao. [Aug. 2012]