Palace assures farmers land distribution will
continue despite expiration of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
The Palace made an assurance on Saturday that
land acquisition and distribution will continue despite the expected expiration
of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Law this month.
Some farmer groups said that the expiration of
the law will affect land distribution in the country and especially poor
farmers who rely on parcels of land they till.
In a radio interview Saturday over state-run
dzRB Radyo ng Bayan, Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the
President certified the CARP extension bill as urgent but Congress failed to
act on it.
Despite this development however, Valte said the
Department of Agrarian Reform continues to issue Notices of Coverage for the
land distribution.
What is important is the issuance of Notices of
Coverage for lands covered by CARP and despite the expiration on June 30 this
year, land acquisition and distribution could continue, she said.
"Medyo paspasan na talaga ang DAR
(Department of Agrarian Reform) dahil palapit na ang deadline. At kung
mapapansin niyo sa inyong mga pahayagan ay halos araw-araw may makikita kayong
napa-publish na Notice of Coverage at mahahaba ho ‘yung mga pangalan," she
said.
The Palace official said the public could view
at the DAR's website how many hectares of land were already processed by the
department and also the number of Notices of Coverage that have been issued.
DAR's website is www.dar.gov.ph.
Farmers should not worry, she said, noting the
efforts being made by DAR for the program to benefit the people. PND (as)
