Negros governor hit over CARP exclusion request

BACOLOD City, Philippines – The mayor-elect of the town of Moises Padilla in Negros Occidental has criticized re-elected governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. for seeking the exclusion of a 147-hectare property from the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Magdaleno Peña, an ally of president-elect Rodrigo Duterte, said that incoming Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano would surely not approve Marañon’s request.

The property, which cuts through the villages of Santa Rosa and Canlandog in Murcia town, was purchased by the provincial government in 2014 for its cattle ranch project.

Outgoing DAR Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes on May 10 rejected an application filed by the provincial government to exclude the property from CARP coverage.

Prior to the dismissal of the application, however, the provincial government paid in full the owner of the property, but to this day, the land titles have not reportedly been transferred under the name of the provincial government.

Marañon said they would apply instead for a permit on land conversion.