THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)-Negros Occidental II is optimistic to reach the target land distribution of 5,000 hectares covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp) in the southern portion of the province this year.
Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Lucrecia Taberna, who led the massive distribution of certificates of land ownership award (Cloas) at Manuel Y. Torres Memorial Coliseum and Culture Center in Bago City on Tuesday, August 1, said they continue to move forward based on the defined targets.
Taberna said of the 8,000 hectares potential landholdings, at least 4,000 hectares are ready for investigation by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) to be followed by valuation and registration.
The 4,000 hectares up for registration this year is on top of the 1,254 hectares already distributed from January to August this year, DAR-Negros Occidental South records showed.
“We are engaging different strategies and doing close coordination with other Carp implementing agencies for us to cope with the 2017 target,” Taberna said, adding that the agency is currently working on the registration of more land titles.
Synchronized distribution
Aside from Bago City, synchronized Cloa distribution activities were also conducted in Binalbagan town and Kabankalan City on Tuesday.
In Bago City, the DA-Negros Occidental II distributed 35 landholdings to 626 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in the Fourth District covering an area of 504 hectares.
The activity was also attended by Mayor Nicholas Yulo and Lawyer Peter Cañoso, head of LBP-Negros Occidental Agrarian Operations Center, and other DAR officials.
About 390 hectares covered by 30 landholdings owned by 503 ARBs in the Fifth District were distributed in Binalbagan.
In Kabankalan City, 315 ARBs received 25 landholdings covering 226 hectares in the Sixth District.
All in all, the agency simultaneously distributed 90 landholdings to 1,444 ARBs covering about 1,121 hectares in southern Negros.
“This is the biggest distribution that we have for the entire southern portion of the province this year,” Taberna said.
She added that some of the recipients have waited since 2014 as there were some delays due to adjustments brought by the computerization introduced by the Register of Deeds, a partner-implementing agency of DAR.
The 1,121 hectares form part of the 1,254 hectares land reform area distributed by DAR-Negros Occidental South as of this month.
The remaining 132.32 hectares are accounted for 363 Cloas distributed during the first half of the year.
Other support services
Moreover, Taberna said the DAR services do not end in the land distribution.
After the farmer-beneficiaries have organized themselves either as association or cooperative, they can avail of various support services from the government.
Taberna said the agency is currently integrating land tenure improvement and program beneficiary development to equip farmers to become productive land owners.
Aside from loans through the Agrarian Production Credit Program, ARBs are also benefiting from various projects like sustainable livelihood, development partnerships like establishment of farm business schools, and availment of climate-resilient facilities, among others.
“We are urging agrarian beneficiaries to be rightful owners of the land and cultivate it for productivity,” Taberna said, reminding them that sale, transfer, and lease or “ariendo” system are prohibited.
