President Rodrigo Duterte could immediately place under land reform 15.5 hectares of agricultural land on Boracay island, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary John Castriciones said on Monday.
Once the President executes an official order to put Boracay under land reform after its six-month closure for rehabilitation, Castriociones said they could immediately process the distribution of 15.5 hectares of agricultural land, without structures, to identified beneficiaries.
“Some parts (of the 628.96 hectare agricultural and “alienable and disposable” land) are already built with structures. But there are portions that can be immediately subjected to land reform once the President says so,” Castriociones said in a media briefing.
“There is no marching order yet but we are anticipating, we will do it because there is a valid ground for us to implement it,” he also said.
DAR Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and Research Office David Erro also said Duterte was “correct in saying that Boracay can be placed under land reform.”
Castriciones and Erro said indigenous peoples, particularly aetas living in a two-hectare village there, would be prioritized by the agency.
Erro said they found out during a visit of the island last April 24 to 25 that aetas were “driven out” of their homes when structures were built in the famed tourist destination. While some native inhabitants are still in Boracay, others have moved to the mainland.
Erro said other inhabitants displaced from their homes could be prioritized should the President make good his statement to distribute Boracay land to farmers. He said the agency already identified at least 84 possible beneficiaries from the island.
The DAR official said there were 408.5113 hectares of agricultural land with illegal structures that could be converted for land reform.
Out of 31 homestead or free patents (issued titles) 21 were subjected already to reversion proceedings, he added.
In 2006, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Proclamation No. 1064 classifying the 1,006.64-hectare island into forest and agricultural land.
The proclamation classified 628.96 hectares, or 60.94 percent, of the island as agricultural and thus “alienable and disposable.” The rest was declared forestland for “protection purposes.” /cbb
READ: Duterte: Boracay to be a ‘land reform area’ for farmers after closure