The Department of Agrarian Reform wants a P12.8-billion budget for 2022 to implement its programs.
The DAR said it plans to use the budget for land reform, agrarian peace and stability, sustainable development, social justice, and industrialization in the rural areas.
Undersecretary for Finance Lucius Junjun Malsi said as of January, the department has a remaining 513,286 hectares of agricultural lands for distribution to landless farmers.
“Bulk of the proposed budget would be used to support the three major programs of DAR, namely: the Agrarian Justice Delivery (AJD) Program, Land Tenure Security (LTS) Program, and the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development and Sustainability Program,” he said.
Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Office Luis Meinrado Pangulayan disclosed that among the DAR’s remaining lands to be distributed are idle government-owned lands under Executive Order No. 75, and problematic lands that involve legal issues.
“Under E.O. 75, the DAR will distribute 206,099 hectares of land. The distribution of idle government-owned lands is a top priority of the Department following the issuance by the President of Executive Order No. 75, series of 2019,” he said.
Senator Cynthia Villar, committee on food, agriculture, and agrarian reform, asked for the report of the most difficult land problems to be submitted on Oct. 29 before the final hearing of the DAR’s budget in November.
The proposed 2022 budget will be allotted to various program components of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, such as land tenure services, agrarian justice delivery, agrarian reform beneficiaries development services, operations, and the rest will be allotted to general administration and support to operations.