MARAMAG, Bukidnon—While the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) of South Bukidnon believes that it can meet its target before this year ends to distribute the lands, Task Force Mapalad (TFM) calls it as an unrealistic target given the slow-paced implementation of covered by Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPer).

Norberto Paquingan, Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer (PARO) of South Bukidnon, believes that the agency can distribute the 2,126 hectares of land before Dec. 31.



Although he admitted that they have only 252 hectares out of the total target as of Dec. 2, said Paquingan, adding that these awarded lands have already been registered to the Registry of Deeds.

This means barely 12 percent of the total target has been distributed to the farmers. 



“We are on track to award the remaining CARP-covered lands to the farmers at the end of the year,” he said, adding that this will be done through compulsory acquisition. 



But TFM-Bukidnon coordinator Joseph Coles said it is an unrealistic target to accomplish since it’s less than a month of working days left this month. Coles said that he is still hopeful that more CARP-covered lands will be awarded to the farmers in Bukidon before this year ends. 



“But we are happy with this small victories like the reinstallation of the farmer beneficiaries in Ocaya Ranch,” he said. 



On Dec. 2, 237 farmer-beneficiaries were reinstalled at Ocaya Ranch, nine months after they were evicted due to alleged harassments perpetrated by farm guards. 



But with the recent Supreme Court ruling to distribute Hacienda Luisita to the farmers, Coles said it will be an icon of agrarian reform program in the country. 



“By next year, with the development in the Hacienda Luisita case, we are hoping that the land acquisition and distribution of the government would be efficient,” he said.

All over the country, the DAR posted on its website that it is aiming 200,000-hectare land distribution target for this year, 68,000 hectares of which will be done by way of compulsory acquisition.

Meanwhile, Paquingan assured that support services such as credit facility and post-harvest facilities, will be given to the beneficiaries. 



He added that the portion of the Ocaya ranch, which was covered by CARP, will be part of the expansion of the existing Agrarian Reform Community in the nearby barangays.