DAR to start raffle of farmlands for Luisita beneficiaries

MANILA, Philippines - The drawing of lots to determine the farmlands to be given to more than 6,000 qualified beneficiaries of Hacienda Luisita will begin tomorrow, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) announced yesterday.

DAR Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes said it is a crucial step in generating the Certificates of Land Ownership Award for qualified farm workers, the distribution of which would be completed by August or September.

“The allocation of farm lots is necessary to identify the specific parcel of land that each qualified beneficiary will own,” he said.

De los Reyes said the farm lot allocation would begin in Barangay Cut-Cut in Tarlac City and continue until all barangays in Hacienda Luisita are covered.

The DAR office in Tarlac estimated that it would take them until Aug. 21 to complete the allocation.

Hacienda Luisita is composed of 10 barangays in three municipalities in Tarlac – Barangays Cut-Cut, Bantog, Balete, Asturias, Lourdes and Mapalacsiao in Tarlac City; Parang, Pando and Mabilog in Concepcion; and Barangay Motrico in La Paz.

De los Reyes said the drawing of lots will be open to the public to ensure fairness and transparency.

The DAR has identified 6,212 beneficiaries of Hacienda Luisita.

Each beneficiary is expected to own about 6,600 square meters of farm lots of the total 4,099 hectares up for distribution.