SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, ANTIQUE -- The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has 160 remaining hectares in the province of Antique to be distributed to Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) this year, an official said Tuesday.
DAR Western Visayas Regional Director Stephen Marfil Leonidas said Antique hopefully could become land acquisition and distribution (LAD)-free within the year with the very little area left for distribution.
“Antique for sure has the smallest balance in the region which even this year could already be finished,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of the 31st Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) Employees Day hosted by the provincial government.
He said all provinces in Region 6 (Western Visayas) and throughout the country are being targeted to be LAD-free by 2020 as President Rodrigo Duterte has directed that he would like to have all the areas subject to CARP be distributed to ARBs before his term ends.
“The implementation of CARP is already for 31 years when Republic Act No. 6657 was signed by then-president Corazon Aquino,” he said.
Meanwhile, Antique Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer Florentino Siladan said they need the help of the different government agencies, like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to conduct the survey, and for his 66 DAR personnel to focus in making Antique LAD-free soon.
“The towns where there are still wide areas for land distribution are Sibalom, Bugasong, Hamtic, and San Remigio,” he said.
There are also portions for land distribution in Culasi and Barbaza towns, said Siladan, who is unable to give the exact hectarage for distribution in the municipalities.
He said the remaining areas for distribution are those considered to be contentious because there is a resistance of private landowners or that the beneficiaries themselves have personal conflicts that still needed to be resolved.
Siladan said their universal target area in Antique for distribution is 40,000 hectares. (PNA)
