MANILA -- The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has begun carrying out President Rodrigo R. Duterte's order to subject all tracts of idle government land nationwide to agrarian reform so these would be productive.
"Our regional offices are already verifying the extent of government land in their respective areas of jurisdiction," Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriciones said in a media briefing in Quezon City on Thursday.
Castriciones said he had ordered the verification immediately after receiving the President's instruction on Wednesday.
The verification will enable DAR to determine the total area of government land that can be subjected to agrarian reform.
The government's agrarian reform initiative aims to grant landless Filipino farmers and farm workers ownership of agricultural land to benefit them and help boost agriculture nationwide.
The DAR includes idle government lands previously given to state universities and colleges among those qualified for agrarian reform.
Some 4,000 to 6,000 hectares of Davao Penal Colony land will also be subject to agrarian reform, according to the agency.
The department aims to complete its verification activities as soon as possible, so it can take the next steps in distributing the idle government lands to qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Earlier, the agency estimated 300,000 to 600,000 hectares of agrarian reform-qualified government land nationwide.
The figure includes alien and disposable agricultural land, said DAR Field Operations Undersecretary Karlo Bello.
"The estimate also includes non-agricultural government land that's either already being used for agriculture or has the potential for agricultural activities," Bello said at the press conference, noting that forestland is among such land.
"There are farming activities in forestland already," he said.
Last month, Duterte also expressed his plan to implement agrarian reform in top tourist destination Boracay Island.
Proclamation 1064 series of 2006 classified 628.96 hectares of land in Boracay as alienable and disposable agricultural land.
The proclamation also classified the remaining areas of Boracay as forestland for protection. (PNA)
