Distribute lands in Negros, P-Noy asked

MANILA, Philippines - A group of farmers has urged President Aquino to distribute 135,000 hectares of land in Negros.

Members of Task Force Mapalad (TFM) claimed the Department of Agriculture (DAR) failed to pursue its land acquisition and distribution (LAD) function for several years.

TFM-Negros president Alberto Jayme said the President should take charge of land distribution to prove he is determined to pursue agrarian reform and accomplish the targets of the program.

The farmers claimed Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes failed to honor his promise to distribute a big chunk of land in Negros in March.

Jayme scored DAR for increasing, rather than decreasing, its LAD backlog, saying “the failure of the department to pursue its distribution function in earnest squanders the President’s political capital.”

More than 1,000 Negros farmers marched to the DAR office in Bacolod City on Thursday to demand the breakup of sugar estates and criticize the slow distribution rate under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms.

TFM claimed that DAR has not made a dent on its commitment to distribute 1.093 million hectares of agricultural land since last July.

“Ninety-four percent of these lands are privately-owned. More than 33 percent of these are large landholdings, or properties 24 hectares and bigger,” noted Jayme.

He stressed that in Negros Occidental alone, 135,199 hectares have not been distributed, and no notices of coverage had been issued on these estates.