DAR failed, auditors say

The Department of Agrarian Reform’s (DAR) performance last year was dismal, according to state auditors.

In its annual report released on Wednesday, the Commission on Audit (COA) said DAR distributed to farmers only 18 percent out of its targeted 198,631 hectares, and zero land distribution in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in 2015.

The DAR only managed to issue agrarian reform beneficiaries emancipation patents or certificates of land ownership awards  covering a total 35,563 hectares last year, according to the COA.

The COA said the land acquisition and distribution rate averaged only 19 percent in 27 provinces, while the rest of the provinces no longer set new targets but only processed landholdings that were already in the pipeline for distribution.

Nevertheless, the DAR spent a total P3.6 billion or 71 percent of the funds released for land acquisition and distribution.

“While funds intended for inspection, verification and approval of surveys for

ARMM were fully obligated, there was a reported zero accomplishment,” the COA noted.

The COA noted the slow process of land acquisition and distribution under the past DAR administration, taking a year up to two years when the normal processing time should have been 196 working days.