Farmers still have to receive the Negros land pled

Not one of five Negros estates promised by First Gentleman Mike Arroyo for agrarian reform has been distributed to farmers, "all because of the foot-dragging of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)," advocates said yesterday.

They also expressed doubts that DAR Secretary Hernani Braganza could meet his 2001 target of distributing 101,328 hectares to farmer-beneficiaries.

"Several months have passed since the President directed Secretary Braganza to acquire and distribute these to us," said Jose Rodito Angeles, a farm worker of the 192-hectare Hacienda Grande in La Castellana town owned by the Arroyos. "We don’t know why up to now, he has failed to act on this matter."

Lawyer Mabel Arias, counsel for the Task Force Mapalad, a federation of 5,000 farm workers from 105 sugar cane haciendas in Negros island, said the DAR secretary will have to work more than double if he wants to meet his target.

DAR figures show that from January to July this year, the department has only distributed to farmer-beneficiaries a total of 32,147 hectares of land or only 32 percent of its current target.

She said the Arroyo estates are a showcase of just how slow DAR has been acting on land claims filed by farmer-beneficiaries.

The First Gentleman earlier announced he had convinced his relatives to sell some of their sugar cane estates to the government’s agrarian reform program. His uncles agreed to sell not only the Hacienda Grande but also the 60-hectare Hacienda Alipyon in La Castellana town; the 239-hectare Hacienda Manolita in Binalbagan municipality; the 157-hectare Hacienda Bacan in Isabela and the 139-hectare Hacienda Olimbo in Hinigaran.

Meanwhile, DAR asked the Supreme Court yesterday to censure a regional trial court judge in Negros Occidental for allegedly blocking the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program in the province.

DAR lawyer Marvin Bernal asked the 15-member High Tribunal to impose administrative sanctions on Judge Alfonso Combong Jr. of the La Carlota Regional Trial Court for allegedly encroaching on agrarian reform matters that are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the department.

Combong earlier issued an order directing DAR officials in the province to refrain from implementing Republic Act 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law.

In his ten-page complaint, Bernal said the judge’s status quo order amounted to a writ of preliminary injunction against the department when Section 50 of the law clearly provides that no lower court may issue such an order against the government’s agrarian reform program. — Romel Bagares