The Land Bank of the Philippines has so far approved P10.526 billion in land reform payments in Negros Occidental, but is holding the processing of new claims received in July, Lemuel Sembrano, LBP agrarian operations center manager, said.

“We have been instructed to hold the processing of these new claims, pending release of the implementing rules and regulations of the recently passed law extending land reform for another five years,” he said.

As of July 31 the LBP has received 224 claim folders for 1,921 hectares involving 2,341 land reform beneficiaries, he said.

Outstanding receivables of Land Bank from farmer beneficiaries is P186 million, he added.

Under the new law, the landowner is involved in the selection process of the farmer beneficiaries, he said. The attestation of the land owners is required in the final list of beneficiaries identified by the Department of Agrarian Reform, he said.

The zonal valuation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue is also now included as one of the factors in the valuation process of land covered by land reform, Sembrano said.

Land Bank is waiting for the new valuation formula from the DAR, Sembrano also said.*CPG

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