Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has completed the distribution of Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) to 663 farmer-beneficiaries of Barangay (village) Mapalacsiao at the Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac.
Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio delos Reyes said Barangay Mapalacsiao was the last of 10 villages in the Cojuangco family-owned sugar estate to receive their CLOAs. The DAR began the distribution of CLOAs three weeks ago in the villages of Pando, Motrico, Lourdes, Parang, Mabilog, Bantug, Cutcut, Asturias, and Balete.
Delos Reyes said in a statement, “The land in Luisita is now theirs,” adding that the distribution was completed despite damage wrought by typhoon “Santi” in the area.
Six hundred sixty-three (663) of 745 farmer-beneficiaries were given certified true copies of their CLOAs in simple rites at the village hall.
Based on DAR data 5,718 CLOAs have been distributed to Hacienda Luisita farmer-beneficiaries out of a total of 6,189 for distribution, or 92.39% of the CLOAs registered to date.
CLOAs of other farmer-beneficiaries are still for registration with the Registry of Deeds or have not yet been processed pending the signing by some farmer-beneficiaries of their Application to Purchase and Farmers Undertaking.
The DAR secretary said the figures would rise upon the receipt by other farmer-beneficiaries of their CLOA certified true copies directly from the agrarian reform provincial office. These farmers were earlier not able to receive their CLOAs in scheduled distribution activities in their respective villages.
Delos Reyes said that his department has been preparing to install the farmer-beneficiaries on their lots and would soon proceed with the “monumenting” or marking of the Hacienda Luisita land to which they have been entitled. The marking will involve the setting up of concrete signs or structures signifying the farmers’ ownership of the lands.
While “monumenting” could not proceed until after the harvesting of the planted sugarcane, he assured concerned parties that the process would be undertaken within the month so lots belonging to each farmer-beneficiary would be clearly defined by the “mohons” (concrete markers).
The DAR secretary added that support to the farmer-beneficiaries would be continued, saying that his agency has started testing and determining soil samples to be used as the definitive reference in the customized interventions and menu of support services to be offered to them.
He said that the tests would aid the farmer-beneficiaries in the choice of crops they might want to plant in their newly titled lands.