Farmers storm DAR; 3 hurt

Three farmers were injured after security personnel of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) barred their group’s attempt to “storm” the agency.

They are demanding the relief of DAR’s Bureau of Agrarian Legal Assistance (BALA) director Ibra Omar, who allegedly “willfully contravened” an earlier order for the issuance of a notice of coverage (NOC) for a 124-hectare property in Batangas, which would put the land under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

The farmers, who belong to Task Force Mapalad (TFM), are pushing their claim over the land formerly managed by Hennessy Development Corp. in Sitio Marulsa, Barangay Laiya Ibabaw in the municipality of San Juan.

They said Omar disregarded the order of the DAR Field Operations and prevented the provincial agrarian reform office (PARO) of Batangas from issuing the NOC for the Hennessy property.

TFM identified its injured members as Edwin Gonzales, 55; Emilio Liven, 67; and Cris Ruiz, 32. The group said DAR security personnel hit their members on various parts of their bodies with wood sticks.

Vicente Ayap, chairman of Laiya Ibabaw Samahang Magsasaka, an affiliate of TFM, accused Omar of selling the farmers out to the Taiwanese-owned firm, and urged DAR Secretary Nasser Pangandaman to conduct an investigation.

According to Ayap, they were surprised to learn from Batangas PARO Cynthia Lapid that Omar had “ordered” her to stop the issuance of notice of CARP coverage on the property because the landowner has a pending appeal before the Office of the President (OP) for the renewal of its land conversion plan.

The farmers said that in 1988, Hennessy was allowed to convert the property into a first-class eco-tourism area but failed to undertake any development. The firm then applied for extension of the conversion but failed to submit essential documents, thus, DAR dismissed its application.

Hennessy Development Corp. is said to have filed an appeal before the OP. But farmers insisted there were no records to show that it had renewed its registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and therefore, the company does not legally exist anymore.