CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines — Mindanao farmers, supported by the Catholic clergy, the Task Force Mapalad (TFM) and several other groups, petitioned Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes on Wednesday to immediately issue notices of coverage (NOCs) on more than 270,000 hectares of land all over the country.
Converging here in preparation for the planned long march to Malacañang this week, the farmers said the government should issue NOCs on 35,204 landholdings nationwide before the end of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program on June 30.
TFM President Alberto Jayme said the landholdings that should be issued NOCs were spread across 22 provinces, some of which were areas where TFM has been working for equal distribution of land.
They included “Yolanda”-hit areas, where rebuilding efforts have been quite slow, Jayme said.
Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio “Gil” delos Reyes. PHOTO FROM GOV.PH
The Negros provinces, where vast sugarcane fields are found, have the most number of hectares of landholdings, which have yet to be issued NOCs at nearly 91,000 hectares based on TFM figures.
Negros Occidental alone has 45,200 hectares that should have already been issued NOCs but the DAR continually failed to do so, Jayme said.
“If an NOC is not issued, a landholding can never be processed for acquisition and distribution to its farmer-beneficiaries and thus will remain under the control of its present landowner, thereby defeating the Carper’s land-to-the-tiller objective,” the petition said.
Jayme said only the issuance of NOCs could ensure the distribution of landholdings to farmers even after the end of the program.
He cited Section 30 of Republic Act 9700, which said that landholdings already issued NOCs can still be distributed even beyond 2014.
Earlier, De los Reyes has admitted that with only a few days to go, DAR might not be able to complete the distribution of lands it targeted.
He said the agency could not even issue NOCs on all privately held lands before the expiration of the program on June 30.
“…I don’t think it’s possible,” he said.
This was the same reason, de los Reyes said, why he has decided to support the bill filed by Ifugao Representative Teddy Baguilat, which sought to extend the Carp’s life by two more years.
Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma said DAR could serve social justice by fast-tracking the issuance of notices of coverage on the landholdings the farmers had identified.
Zamboanga del Norte Archbishop Jose Manguiran said that instead of giving priority to banana, pineapple and other plantations, the government should give land to the farmers as “they serve as the lifeline of the country’s food security.”