Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes, who was in Bacolod yesterday, said President Benigno Aquino is serious about the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms, and remedial measures are being put in place to complete the coverage of 120,000 has. in Negros Occidental by 2014.

Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra called on the president last week  to do a Moses and deliver millions of landless Filipino farmers from bondage.

Negros Occidental is number one among the top 20 provinces in the country with the largest number of areas still up for coverage under CARPER, de los Reyes  said.

The top 20 areas cover 80 percent of the 800,080 has. nationwide still up for land reform coverage, he also said.

Of the 800,080 has. of land up for CARPER coverage  200,000 cannot be touched until 2013 because they are 10 has. and below, he added.

De los Reyes said it is not true thatAquino is not serious about the completion of the land reform program, in fact, Congress has already allocatedfunds for land acquisition until 2013.

The P7.9 billion allocated for land acquisition is enough to pay fair prices to landowners, he said.

He also said P2 billion has been allocated for support services to agrarian reform beneficiaries, which include enterprise development and farm mechanization.

De los Reyes joined a workshop in Bacolod City  of Negros Occidental DAR personnel  to enforce new methods to fast-track land reform in the province, where 20,000 has. are targeted for coverage this year.

Additional DAR personnel are being brought into Negros Occidentalfor the mass processing of claim folders, he said.

The DAR personnel in Negros Occidental are 197 and they are adding about one-third more to hasten their CARPER work, de los Reyes said.

One of the problems that had caused the delay in land distribution have been land records, he said.

New systems are being adopted for closer coordination between DAR, and the Land Registration Authority, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Land Bank of the Philippines to hasten land coverage, de los Reyes said.*CPG

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