THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is prevented from issuing Notices of Coverage for two landholdings pending the resolution of stock distribution option (SDO) cases brought before the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC).
Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilo delos Reyes, however, assured protesting farmers from Hacienda Anita or the SVJ Farms and Hacienda Teresa of the 14 Colored Corporations that the DAR will facilitate the SDO cases.
Notices of Coverage for these landholdings will only be issued once the cases have been resolved by the PARC, delos Reyes said.
The PARC is an inter-agency council composed of representatives of the various CARP implementing agencies such as the DAR, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Budget and Management, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Justice, the Office of the President, the Department of Labor and Employment, the National Economic and Development Authority, the Land Bank of the Philippines as well as representatives of farmers’ organizations and the landowners.
The 14 Colored Corporations had previously filed their SDO application in May 1990 over Haciendas Teresa and Salamanca located in EB Magalona and La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, respectively, covering a total area of 972.6975 hectares.
After this was denied in August 2002, a motion for reconsideration was filed in July 2003.
According to delos Reyes, when the present management of the DAR assumed office, steps were undertaken to expedite action on this matter, and the PARC Executive Committee (ExeCom) regularly met to discuss and evaluate this matter, among others.
A DAR legal opinion rendered in December 2010 that the SDO application should be denied prompted the creation of the Legal Panel chaired by DOJ Undersecretary Jose Vicente B. Salazar in February 2011. After five meetings, the Legal Panel recommended the denial of the SDO application.
The PARC ExeCom met on Oct. 26, 2011 to act on the legal panel’s recommendation to deny the SDO application. However, it was unable to vote on the matter because the required number of voting members of the committee was not present.
The next meeting of the PARC ExeCom is scheduled on Nov. 16, 2011 for the sole purpose of acting on SDO application of the 14 Colored Corporation. According to delos Reyes, in the event that the PARC ExeCom decides on the SDO application, the matter shall then be forwarded to the PARC itself for final decision.
“As much as the DAR wants this matter settled quickly, the highest standards of due process must be observed, both in its substantive and procedural aspects,” de los Reyes said.
The PARC secretariat has endorsed the petition for the revocation of the SDO in Hacienda Anita to the DAR’s National Task Force on SDO just last month, for it to conduct an on-site investigation and validation of the issues raised.
The secretariat is currently awaiting the report of the Task Force, which it expects to be submitted shortly, the DAR chief said.
(Jonathan L. Mayuga)
