Luisita beneficiaries plan to sell farm lots

TARLAC CITY , Philippines   â€“ Agrarian reform beneficiaries of Hacienda Luisita are reportedly planning to sell their farm lots once they receive titles to the land.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) on Thursday started the allocation of farmlands through a raffle in Barangay Cutcut, Tarlac where 646 of the sugar plantation’s former workers live.

Adolfo del Prado, one of the beneficiaries, said he heard rumors that other farmers want to sell their lots. He said he might sell his farmland too.

But his wife, who has her own share of the lots to be distributed, is not open to the idea.

Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio delos Reyes supervised the distribution of allocation certificates to qualified beneficiaries in Barangay Cutcut.

Delos Reyes was accompanied by DAR Undersecretary Anthony Parungao during the drawing of lots.

First to be called during the raffle was Rodolfo Ayson, 50, who has worked in Hacienda Luisita for more than 15 years.

The hacienda is composed of 10 villages, namely, Barangays Cutcut, Bantog, Balete, Asturias, Lourdes and Mapalacsiao in Tarlac City; Parang, Pando and Mabilog in Concepcion; and Barangay Motrico in La Paz town.

Over 6,000 farmer-beneficiaries will get around 6,600 square meters out of the total 4,100-hectare land area of the plantation.

The DAR provincial office in Tarlac estimated that it would take them until Aug. 21 to finish the lot allocation activities.