MANILA – The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) will finish off the awarding of the remaining portions of the Cojuangco-owned Hacienda Luisita land to farmer-beneficiaries this month.
DAR secretary John Castriciones said in an interview that President Rodrigo Duterte will personally turnover the lands to beneficiaries from Central Luzon in a formal rites this month.
“Yes, the farmers will finally have it,” Castriciones said. “Ito na po ‘yung pinakahuli na portion ng Hacienda Luisita na hindi pa napamimigay. At ngayon po sa administrasyon na to ipapamigay na ang lupa sa Barangay Bantog.”
Castriciones added that a total of 472 hectares of land in Nueva Ecija province, with parts coming from the Cojuangco-owned hacienda in Tarlac, that will be given to 546 beneficiary farmers.
Around 41,077 hectares will also be distributed to 31,132 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) this year, whose number exceeded DAR’s target of hectares in 2018 with 60,777 hectares distributed to 41,787 ARBs.
Last month, 715 beneficiaries received 802 hectares of land in Negros Occidental. From the number, around 129 hectares will be given to 314 farmers in Sagay, Negros Occidental.
Duterte and Castriciones also distributed a total of 834 land titles in Maguindanao earlier this year, while more lands are to be distributed from Davao Region and Region 12 (Socsksargen)./PN
