Department of Agrarian Reform yet to distribute 0.5 million hectares to farmers

MANILA, Philippines — Following President Duterte’s declaration that he would place Boracay under land reform, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary John Castriciones bared that around 500,000 hectares of land elsewhere in the country still need to be distributed to beneficiaries.

Castriciones noted that most of these lands are in Isabela, Quezon, Bicol, Leyte and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

“Our target per year is to distribute 50,000 hectares. However, due to certain factors, it is possible not to meet the target. It happens that sometimes, there’s a backlog,” he said.

Castriciones said in the case of Boracay, portions of the island were identified as agricultural and forest areas. The agricultural lands, alienable and disposable, can be subjected to distribution, the DAR chief said.