2,000 Luisita farmers get lot allocations

MANILA, Philippines - Close to 2,000 farmworkers from three barangays in Hacienda Luisita have been allotted individual parcels of land following the land distribution activities that started last July 18, according to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) yesterday.

DAR Undersecretary Anthony Parungao said 435 more farmworkers were allotted farm lots last Thursday as DAR resumed its lot allocation activity for qualified beneficiaries in Barangay Bantog.

The first lot allocation activity took place last July 18 in Barangay Cutcut, where 645 farmworkers earned the distinction of becoming the first batch of qualified beneficiaries to be granted specific parcels of lots in the sugar estate.  

Last July 22, another 586 farmworkers were given lot allocation in Barangay Lourdes. This brings to 1,666 the total number of farmworkers allotted lots in the hacienda.

“We were able to cover almost 25 percent of the total number of beneficiaries, allocating 1,099.56 hectares of land, in the first three days of lot allocation in Hacienda Luisita,” Parungao said.

A total of 6,212 farmworkers have been identified as qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries in Hacienda Luisita. Each beneficiary is allotted 6,600 square meters of farm lot.

Parungao noted that more than 90 percent of the qualified beneficiaries in Barangays Cutcut, Lourdes and Bantog attended the drawing of lot assignments.

Those who did not attend the raffle of lots had been advised to go to the DAR Provincial Office in Tarlac to get their lot allocation certificates and sign the application to purchase and framers’ understanding. 

“Both documents are needed for DAR to generate the Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) that would be distributed to 6,212 qualified beneficiaries of Hacienda Luisita,” Parungao said.

After Barangays Cutcut, Lourdes and Bantog, the DAR field personnel will proceed to Barangay Asurias next week to resume the lot allocation activity.

The DAR expects to finish the lot allocation activities on Aug. 21, when all the 10 barangays of Hacienda Luisita are covered.

Meanwhile, DAR has distributed 161.6 hectares of agricultural lands to 78 agrarian reform beneficiaries in Barangay Colonia, Tuburan, Cebu.

Provincial agrarian reform officer Isaganie Yee said the distributed landholdings, previously owned by V.A. Cabahug Agro Industrial Development Corp. was acquired through the voluntary offer to sell of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Yee reminded the beneficiaries of their obligations to pay real estate taxes and the annual amortization.