CARP NOT A SUNSETTING PROGRAM-SEC GIL DELOS REYES Tagaytay City. “CARP is not a sunsetting program” thus declared DAR Secretary Virgilio delos Reyes during a nationwide gathering of Information Officers on the occasion of Radio Broadcasting, Crisis PR Seminar/Workshop and Public Assistance and Media Relations Service (PAMRS) Orientation at the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) last September 28-30,2013 . He urged the participants to make bold steps in “educating the public on agrarian reform and allow discussions on social justice and small holder farming”. He also encouraged to showcase and “present the many success stories” that are happening in the Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) while ensuring utmost ”transparency & accountability” in the employees discharge of duties. The Secretary went on to enumerate the valid reasons why CARP must continue, viz: 1. There is nothing in the law that states that the DAR cannot distribute CARP-covered agricultural lands beyond 2014; 2. Section 30 of RA 9700 states that distribution of land with pending cases/proceedings will continue beyond 2014; and 3. The aforementioned was confirmed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in its Opinion No. 59 of 2013. The “truth about agrarian reform in the past four (4) decades was that 60% of distributed lands are those that are easier, less tedious and less contentious to distribute”, the secretary continued. “Contrast that to the nature of lands that are left for distribution from 2013 to 2016 of which 501,718 out of 822,488 hectares or 61% are under mandatory /compulsory acquisition, and where aggregate landholdings above five (5) hectares will now be placed under the coverage of CARP, one can expect a radically different and a very, very contentious part of land acquisition and distribution”. “A lot of problems will arise along the way and we can get killed in the process but we have to do our job”, the secretary’s emphatic voice resonated in the auditorium. He proudly beamed that distribution of Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac will be held in a series of programs in the first two weeks of October countering the skeptical views and utter disbelief of detractors. Hacienda Luisita has a total of 6,884 lots with an equal area of 6,600 square meters each for the 6,212 identified Farm Worker Beneficiaries spread across 10 barangays in municipalities of Concepcion and La Paz and in Tarlac City, all of Tarlac Province. (by Yadz Geyrozaga- Davao del sur)
Posted on: Mon, 07 Oct 2013 01:15:43 +0000
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