Batangas hacienda owner still unknown

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) on Tuesday said it has yet to  determine the real owner of the controversial tract of land in Rosario, Batangas, which is allegedly owned by Vice President Jejomar Binay.

DAR Secretary Virgilio delos Reyes said that the department's investigation on the 350-hectare property is still ongoing.

He said that the DAR’s records only show names of beneficiaries of lands distributed through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program and names of applicants of approved clearances to transfer ownership in Rosario, Batangas.

He said the DAR does not have sufficient information yet to make any conclusion as to who owns the Rosario farmland, which had been called as Hacienda Binay.
 
"The documents in our possession right now do not conclusively show that he (Binay) owns the land. In fact, we cannot conclude yet who owns it," de los Reyes said.
 
De los Reyes made the clarification following statements by Joselito Salgado, the vice president’s spokesperson, that the DAR chief had effectively said that Binay did not own the property in question.
 
He added that what the DAR is investigating is whether or not the activities conducted on the Rosario property violated any agrarian reform law and who are the perpetrators.

Delos Reyes said determining the actual owner of the property is only incidental to the issues being looked into by the agrarian reform agency.