Farmer beneficiaries of the Polo Plantation in Tanjay have taken the risk by positioning themselves inside the Polo Plantation in Tanjay yesterday in the absence of agrarian reform officials and the police.

This is due to what they believe as undue delay of government to install them as beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

In 2004, violence erupted when holders of the Certificate of Land Ownership Award tried to enter the plantation even in the presence of DAR officials from Region 7.

But in yesterday’s take-over, no untoward incident happened with another group of farmers also positioning themselves inside the plantation.

A member of the Polo Plantation Agrarian Reform Multipurpose Cooperative, Demetrio Balbuena, said they were allowed access to the plantation provided they also honor a request by management to allow their cargo trucks to haul newly harvested canes from the hacienda.

POPARMUCO president Silando Gomez lamented what they claimed to be inaction of certain officials of the department that caused animosities between two groups of farmers. Gomez said they would not want to quarrel with another group of beneficiaries because they are all farmers and all of them badly need the land for their living.

Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer Stephen Leonidas has confirmed that two groups of beneficiares are camping inside the Polo Plantation, but there were no movements, cultivation, and the like.

He said he cannot move until after the results of the final negotiation between Usec Narciso Nieto and ex-Sen Rene Espina of Polo Plantation are known in order not to muddle the issue.

Leonidas stressed that the issue is not on its coverage, but on the petition for inclusion by non-CLOA holders, that can be resolved because 250 hectares, more or less, are still available for coverage.

The provincial DAR officials said the bottomline is for farmer beneficiaries to co-exist for a peaceful settlement of the problem.*JG

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