DAR chief belies report on termination of 9,000 employees

MANILA, Philippines - Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes belied yesterday reports that about 7,000 to 9,000 employees of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) would lose their jobs after the land distribution component of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) expires on June 30, 2014.

“Definitely, there is no mass layoff at the Department of Agrarian Reform,” he said.

“The post-2014 scenario is still being crafted by the land management and the rural development agencies, particularly the DAR, Department of Agriculture, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Land Registration Authority, in close coordination with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).”

“What is envisioned is a strategic and efficient set of reconfigured agencies that deal with agricultural policy, social justice, land distribution, land management, and land registration.

“There are no concrete plans yet and this is still being discussed. The post-2014 will definitely consider the interests of all stakeholders, particularly the welfare of the employees.”

De los Reyes said DAR officials had submitted to the DBM a transition plan to streamline its personnel complement in preparation for the 2014 scenario to better achieve its mandate.

“The transition plan was designed not to collapse the bureaucracy but to augment personnel in mission-critical areas while trimming down on non-critical positions in the run-up to 2014,” he said.

“The trimming down under the proposed Transition Plan will not be through retrenchment but through an offer for voluntary retirement with a robust compensation package to those who want to leave under the enhanced Executive Order 366. It does not involve any forced retirement, retrenchment, or layoffs.

De los Reyes said non-critical positions refer to personnel no longer functional due to redundancy, modernization, and low land distribution balances.