DAR to start Luisita lots' allocation on July 18

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agrarian Reform on Tuesday announced that it will start the allocation of lands to more than 6,000 farmer-beneficiares in Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac on Wednesday.

The DAR said the farmers will finally know the specific lots that will be given to them.

DAR Secretary Virgilio delos Reyes said the allocation of the farm lots, to be conducted through the drawing of lots, is a crucial step in generating the Certificates of Land Ownership Award that will be given to qualified farmworkers in Hacienda Luisita possibly between August and September.

Delos Reyes said that farmworkers in haciendas have no permanent farm lots to claim as their own.

He added that the lot allocation will begin in Barangay Cut-cut, Tarlac City, and will continue in the succeeding days until all barangays of Hacienda Luisita are covered.

The DAR-Provincial Office in Tarlac estimated that it would take them until August 21 this year to complete all the lot allocation in the vast sugar estate.

Hacienda Luisita is composed of 10 barangays in three municipalities in the province of Tarlac-- Barangays Cut-Cut, Bantog, Balete, Asturias, Lourdes and Mapalacsiao in Tarlac City; Parang, Pando and Mabilog in the town of Concepcion; and Barangay Motrico in La Paz town.

Delos Reyes said that the allocation of farm lots to the farmworker-beneficiaries of Hacienda Luisita will be done using a "tambiolo" to ensure fairness and transparency in the proceedings.

More than 6,200 farmworkers were identified by the DAR as qualified to become agrarian reform beneficiaries of Hacienda Luisita.

Each beneficiary is expected to own farm lots with an area of 6,600 square meters from the total area of 4,099 hectares up for distribution.

Around 400.87 hectares of the landholding will also be covered under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program for common use of the qualified beneficiaries.

To ensure transparency, Delos Reyes said that all activities related to lot allocation in Hacienda Luisita will be open to the public.