The Department of Agrarian Reform is launching today its “One-Stop Shop Caravan” that brings government personnel to the barangays to deliver services aimed at accelerating land distribution in Negros Occidental, Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes said yesterday.

Reyes will supervise the unveiling of DAR’s new project in Himamaylan, Negros Occidental, before potential and new agrarian reform beneficiaries.

De los Reyes said the “One-Stop Shop Caravan” is one of the new strategies conceptualized by DAR to comply with President Aquino’s commitment to complete the land acquisition and distribution (LAD) component of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program before his term expires in 2016.

Under the new project, mobile DAR personnel will be deployed in the grassroots to conduct a wide range of activities necessary to fast-track the acquisition of more than 100,000 hectares of land earmarked for distribution to agrarian reform beneficiaries in Negros Occidental, he said.

The DAR personnel in Negros Occidental will be complemented by support staff from the regional office as well as field workers from nearby provinces such as Antique, Aklan and Guimaras, where land distribution is almost complete, de los Reyes said.

INFORMATION DRIVE

The activities for the “One-Stop Shop Caravan” include an information campaign to educate agrarian reform beneficiaries on the steps to be undertaken in the LAD process, from issuance of notices of coverage to actual distribution of Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs).

As part of the information campaign, DAR personnel will post in public the landholdings covered under CARP in a specific locality, particularly those already issued notices of coverage, he said.

Farmers present in the activity may also take the opportunity to inform DAR personnel if there are landholdings above five hectares in the locality that are still not covered by CARP nor issued notice of coverage, he added.

Potential beneficiaries will then be encouraged to fill up, on the spot, the application forms for agrarian reform beneficiaries that will be distributed through DAR help desks set up in the area.

Delos Reyes said he has issued instructions for the mobile DAR personnel to attend to specific queries of applicant-beneficiaries, particularly on the requirements needed for them to qualify as agrarian reform beneficiaries.

QUESTIONS, CONCERNS

“All questions (of farmer-beneficiaries) will be answered. All (of their) concerns will be addressed,” the DAR chief said.

He noted that agrarian reform beneficiaries will, likewise, be educated on their rights and responsibilities as new owners of land given under CARP.

De los Reyes said the DAR help desks are also open to queries from landowners who decide to attend and participate in the event.

Aside from help desks, DAR will also deploy survey teams during the caravan to conduct initial technical work with the assistance of agrarian reform beneficiaries on landholdings covered under CARP in the area, he said.

The technical teams will survey specific landholdings to identify the area for tillage by individual farmers as well as retention areas for landowners, if any.

De los Reyes explained that these technical work is necessary to avoid, at the outset, conflicting claims over parcels of land among farmer-beneficiaries.

CLOAs FOR 146

At the launch of “One-Stop Shop Caravan” in Himamaylan, De los Reyes will hand out CLOAs for 113 hectares of land to 146 agrarian reform beneficiaries from the towns of Himamaylan, Binalbagan and Kabankalan.

De los Reyes advised the farmer-beneficiaries to take advantage of the presence of DAR and other CARP-implementing agencies at the caravan to inquire and avail of support services needed to ensure the productivity of their land.

The new beneficiaries will be introduced to representatives of DAR, Land Bank and the Sugar Regulatory Authority to talk about support services available to them.*CPG

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