LAND FOR THE LANDLESS. File photo of the Yulo King Ranch between the northern Palawan towns of Coron and Busuanga. (Photo by Celeste Anna R. Formoso)
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan -- A public consultation will be conducted by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Coron and Busuanga, northern Palawan towns, on the plan to distribute 1,000 hectares of land at the Yulo King Ranch (YKR) to landless farmers.
The YKR is an 8,000-hectare alienable and disposable land property between Coron and Busuanga that is in the center of an appeal for Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) coverage by a federation of farmers called Pesante Pilipinas, Inc. (PPI).
Currently, it is under the management of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Forest Management Bureau (DENR-FMB).
Fedeleo de Guzman, agrarian reform officer and information officer-designate of DAR-Palawan, said Monday that the consultation with the informal settlers in the YKR, municipal government officials, and other stakeholders, hopes to discuss and settle the matter.
“As of today, we don’t know yet if it’s DAR or the DENR that will implement this; it will really depend on who will be tasked by President (Rodrigo) Duterte to the distribution of government-owned lands, including YKR,” he said.
De Guzman said, however, that there is no definite date yet when the consultation will be done.
He said although a large portion of the YKR is alienable and disposable, he also said it has timberlands that are being occupied by informal settlers.
“There are informal settlers there and some of them are occupying areas that are ineligible for distribution because they are timberlands. If the distribution starts, what will be selected for distribution are the alienable and disposable lands,” he said.
The YKR is a property sequestered in 1986 by the Presidential Commission on Good Government from Luis Yulo and Peter Sabido, alleging it was part of the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses. Afterward, its management was turned over to the Bureau of Animal Industry and then to the DENR-FMB. (PNA)
