To determine actual tillers of farms under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, the Department of Agrarian Reform is now conducting nationwide certificates of land ownership award validation.
The agency wants to know the true state of the country’s land reform program, and to see if the farm lots awarded to farmer-beneficiaries are still under their full control and possession, or transferred to private individuals or groups.
Undersecretary for Special Concerns Office Carim Panumpang told agency officials and employees in Cavite that CLOA validation process was being pursued vigorously to determine the current situation on the ground that shall serve as the basis for any future programs the department may consider undertaking.
“The real objective of the CARP is to develop agriculture. We award lots to the beneficiaries and the colatilla carried under this CLOA is for them to make the land productive,” he said.
On the other hand, Cavite’s provincial agrarian reform officer James Arthur Dubongco called for the support of barangay and the barangay agrarian reform committee officials “in what appears to be a taxing task,” saying they would play a major role in determining the actual tillers of the already awarded farmlands under CARP.
“Once we started the CLOA-validation process, we will most likely interview individuals who may not have proper identification cards. It is here where the barangay and the BARC officials come into play by issuing certification, attesting the actual tillers of the farmlands, either the farmer-beneficiaries or the new owners,” he said.
DAR Special Concerns Executive Assistant III Dandamun Sultan Jr. cited the benefits the farmer-beneficiaries may derive from the CLOA-validation process —the provision of appropriate support services.
“Through this effort, we will be able to determine the various support services you, farmer-beneficiaries, actually need through actual interviews of farmer-beneficiaries, informants and actual tillers; farm visitations and verification and confirmation of data gathered,” he said.