DARAB hailed for high resolution rate

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) resolved last year a total of 24,672 out of the 33,500 agrarian cases, Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman said.

Ranged against its target of resolving 17,037 cases, DARAB had an accomplish-ment rate of 145 percent, Pangandaman said, adding that the 2009 figure eclipsed the previous record of 23,314 cases resolved posted in 2008.

Pangandaman also announced that his office extended legal assistance to a total of 72,491 cases, resulting in the settlement of 67,786 cases.

“This is a very positive indication that we are very much on track in our bid for zero-backlog in agrarian cases within five years,” Pangandaman said.

The DAR chief said he expects to chip away little by little from the 8,878 pending cases at DARAB until his office accomplishes a zero balance by the end of 2014.

Earlier, Pangandaman directed the DARAB and the Legal Affairs Office to simplify and shorten legal proceedings by doing away with unnecessary steps that only contribute to the delay in the resolution of cases.

“We’ve got to hasten the resolution of cases, some of them are potential powder keg. But, in so doing, we should also exercise caution to preserve the integrity of our decisions,” he stressed.

Pangandaman added that priority should also be given to land acquisition and distribution-related cases, flashpoint and cases involving bigger hectarage in the disposition and resolution of cases.

The DAR chief said his office is exploring various legal measures aimed at speeding up the delivery of agrarian justice in a bid to attain an ambitious zero-backlog within the duration of the agrarian program’s five-year extension period.