RESIDENTS of Barangay La Granja in La Carlota City have expressed support on the coverage of the portion of La Granja Research and Training Station of the University of the Philippines Los Banos-College of Agriculture and Food Science (UPCA-LGRTS) under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp).

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Negros Occidental-South received positive feedback from the residents during the "pulong-pulong" held at La Granja Covered Court Wednesday, November 18.

It said the residents are backing the implementation of the Executive Order 75 Series of 2019, which mandates all government agencies to govern the identification, validation, segregation, transfer and distribution of all government-owned lands, devoted to or necessary for the purpose for which they have been reserved or acquired for eventual distribution to qualified beneficiaries.

Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer I Enrique Paderes, who spoke at the activity, said that as part of their preparation for the coverage, they are now conducting "pulong-pulong" in all involved communities.

Paderes said this is to enlighten them of the purpose of the implementation, and to ask for their cooperation in order to expedite the process of coverage.

The management, he said, has been gaining positive outcomes from the information drives it conducted including an activity held in Barangay Nagasi last November 11.

"After gaining the support of the people, the City Government of La Carlota and the UPCA-LGRTS administration, we are now excited and determined to bring this project into full realization," the official added.

For his part, Mayor Rex Jalandoon has encouraged the affected people of the barangay to cooperate particularly on the screening and selection of possible agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).

The DAR will commence the identification of potential ARBs starting tomorrow until Friday, November 20.

DAR-Western Visayas Regional Director Sheila Enciso earlier said the coverage of the UPCA-LGRTS must be completed and distributed to qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries before the end of the year.

As this developed, UPCA-LGRTS Administrator Dr. Emmanuel Samson said the UPLB administration has yet to identify the retention areas of the university.