47 Danao farmers get land ownership titles under CARP

CEBU, Philippines – Forty-seven farmers in Danao City have been awarded their Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Certificates of Land Ownership Award that formally transfers under their names the 40.45 hectares of agriculture land covered by CARP.

The 47 farmer beneficiaries compose the first batch of farmers in Danao City that availed of CARP. They are from barangays Maslog, Sabang, Sandayong Norte, Guinsay and Cambanay.

The 40.45-hectare land was under the Untitled Private Agricultural Land land distribution scheme of the Department of Agrarian Reform wherein claimants will be considered “owners” of the land they are tilling only after complying with certain requirements.

The claimant must submit documents to prove that the land has been classified as alienable and disposable for 30 years. Further, the land must have been in their possession of their predecessor-in-interest’s possession for at least 30 years prior to December 4, 1972.

All of these are pursuant to Republic Act 9176 or the Extension of the Free Patent Act and joint Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Department of Agrarian reform Memorandum Circular 14 and 16, series of 1997 and 2003 respectively.

The 47-farmer beneficiaries were able to comply with the requirements further arranged and completed by Municipal Agrarian Reform Officers.

DAR-7 Assistant Regional Director for Operations Eliasem Castillo said it was through the efforts of the MAROs that the farmers from Danao were able to successfully avail of the program.

Castillo reminded the farmers to pay their real property taxes regularly so as to help the government implement other programs that would benefit other farmers and the country at large. DAR also reiterated the prohibition of selling of lands that was granted to them under CARP.

Recently, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo certified as urgent the extension of the CARP law for 10 years. The CARP law is set to expire on June 30 but it still has 20 million hectares of land that is yet to be distributed to 20 million additional farmers.

Both the senate and the house leaderships vowed to act on the urgency of the president’s call and committed to prioritize the proposed extension.

Since its creation on 1988, CARP has already benefited four million farmers from the seven million hectares of distributed lands.

In Cebu, 70 percent or 23,606 hectares of Agricultural Lands acquired by DAR has already been distributed to Cebuano farmers.DAR-7 still has a balance of 11,096 hectares to be distributed before the expiration of CARP. — Jessica Ann Pareja/JMO