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Monday, March 10, 2003
Farmers told to hold tilling Esperanza as conflict still on
By Avelyn Z. Agudon
AGRARIAN Reform Sec. Roberto Pagdanganan has ordered the warring groups of farmer beneficiaries in Hacienda Esperanza, La Carlota City to desist from tilling the controversial agricultural land while “permanent” solutions are still being discussed.
Pagdanganan on Friday went to La Carlota to settle the conflict and talk with the leaders of the pro-management group, the Workers Amalgated Union, and the other camp, the Nagasi Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi-Purpose Cooperative.
“We must address the problem based on both parties’ complaints. We will also make sure that legitimate farmer beneficiaries will be able to cultivate their land soon,” said Pagdanganan.
The secretary also said he will specifically look into the complaints against FBs who were granted rights to own land in a prime property located near the entrance of the hacienda, whereas real beneficiaries were given land which is considered non-productive.
“We will look into all of these and give the most reasonable solutions. Once the original beneficiaries are identified, they will cultivate their land,” Pagdanganan added.
Before he left for Iloilo yesterday, Pagdanganan tasked
Undersecretary Teddy Rivera to look into the complaints.
Complaints
The pro-management workers complained against the inclusion of 50 Nagasi FBs as beneficiaries of Lot 799, considered a prime area located near the entrance of the hacienda, since some of their members were only awarded Lots 803 and 804, located four kilometers away from the entrance and considered non-productive.
Moreover, the pro-management FBs also demanded for the exclusion of the 50 others whom they claimed were not original farmers of former Ambassador Roberto Benedicto’s land, and instead to include the 57, whom they claimed are original workers.
With this, the pro-management group filed a petition for inclusion-exclusion which was decided last December 20.
But based on Agrarian Reform Acting Regional Director Alexis Arsenal’s decision in the petition, no FBs were excluded and instead ordered the inclusion of 14 FBs in Lot 799; 11 in Lot 803; and nine in Lot 804.
He ordered the cancellation of the Certificate of Land Ownership in Lots 799,803 and 804, even if he ordered the inclusion of the FBs.
Based on DAR’s record, there are 182 FBs who belong to the pro-management, 76 to the Nagasi and 35 individuals who were given CLOAs to occupy 552.84 hectares of Hda. Nagasi.
TRO sought
As this developed, pro-management counsel, Lawyer Rudy Parreño, sought the issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order and Writ of Preliminary Injunction before the Regional Trial Court in La Carlota, based on constitutional grounds.
Parreño said they want to annul the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program in Hda. Esperanza to once and for all solve the land conflict between the two warring groups.
“We just wanted to ensure that the right of legitimate beneficiaries is respected,” he said. AZA
(March 8, 2003 issue)
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