THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Western Visayas has urged its newly-promoted personnel to do their tasks in a bid to accomplish land acquisition and distribution (LAD) in the country.

DAR-Western Visayas Director Sheila Enciso, who administered the oath-taking of the 47 newly-promoted personnel in Bacolod City Monday, March 2, said that of the promoted personnel, 25 were from DAR-Negros Occidental I and 12 from DAR-Negros Occidental II.

The three personnel are from DAR-Iloilo, another three from DAR-Capiz and four from the regional office in Iloilo City.

Enciso urged them to do their tasks of distributing farm lands and delivering support services to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) to the best of their abilities to uplift the farmer-beneficiaries' standards of living and spur rural development.

She also told personnel "to stop complaining and grab every opportunity to be a better version of themselves and be not afraid to sacrifice in our efforts to address the social ills and injustices in the countryside."

Assistant Regional Director and Human Resource Merit, Promotion and Selection Board chairperson Gideon Umadhay Jr., who was also present at the activity, said the promotion is always coupled with sense of responsibility.

"All promoted personnel are expected to accomplish in three major final outputs of the DAR such as land tenure services, agrarian justice delivery program to ARBs and development sustainability program," he added.

For her part, Assistant Regional Director Lucrecia Taberna challenged the newly-promoted personnel to explore all possibilities to help ARBs uplift their quality of lives especially now that the department is aiming for LAD free by 2022.

"We are expecting you to take a lead together with us in performing President Rodrigo Roa Duterte's call to finish land distribution before the end of his term," Taberna told the personnel.

This is by fast-tracking all LAD activities, including parcelization of collective certificate of land ownership award (Cloa) to Individual titles, coverage of government-owned land including the regular targets and backlogs of new lands, LAD interrupted landholdings and other land transfer components of the program, she added.

Also present during the oath-taking were Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officers of DAR-Negros Occidental, Iloilo and Capiz, their respective division heads, and other personnel and staff.