DAR to assist Hacienda Luisita farmers in documentation

FARM OWNERS SOON. Workers at Hacienda Luisita may soon own the land they’ve been toiling for decades. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Potential beneficiaries of Hacienda Luisita who do not have the proper identification requirements need not worry.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said it would process their request for birth, marriage or death certificates at the National Statistics Office (NSO) in case the heirs of the hacienda farm workers had lost these documents and could not afford to get new copies.

To qualify as potential beneficiaries, the heirs are required to produce copies of the death certificate of farm workers who were employed in the sprawling sugar plantation on or before Nov.  21, 1989.

The widow or widower of a deceased farm worker is also required to show a marriage certificate while children claiming to be successors-in-interest are required to submit birth certificates, all with the NSO seal of authenticity.

Agrarian Reform Secretary Gil de los Reyes said heirs of farm workers who have no supporting documents may fill up the NSO application forms to be provided by DAR personnel during the interview.

The DAR Central Office would then send these applications in bulk to the NSO.

Last month, the Supreme Court ruled with finality on the long-running land reform case and ordered that the Cojuangco-owned estate be given to the farmers, numbering 6,200 as based on 1989 figures. The Court also directed the hacienda management to return the proceeds of the sale of some parts of the hacienda to the plantation workers.

The DAR is currently sorting out beneficiaries of the 4,300-hectare land reform program in Tarlac. So far, the DAR has interviewed over a thousand of potential claimants.

According to the agency, nearly 8,000 Hacienda Luisita residents have registered to be interviewed by DAR employees, the first step in the processing of beneficiaries for the estate.