PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has signed Executive Order (EO) 75, directing all government departments, bureaus, offices, and instrumentalities to identify government lands that are "suitable" for agrarian reform.
Under EO 75, all departments, bureaus, offices and instrumentalities of the government are ordered to identify their lands "devoted to or suitable for agriculture and no longer actually, directly and exclusively used or necessary for the purpose for which they have been reserved or acquired."
They are mandated to submit a list to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), indicating the location and area of the lands, actual use and legal basis of ownership.
"The submission shall include certified true copies of all pertinent documents in their custody relative to the identified lands, including certificates of tile or other proofs of authority to utilize the same," EO 75 read.
"In case of lands which are subject of actions pending before judicial or quasi-judicial tribunals, the submission must include a report on the status of the pending action," it added.
Section 4, Article 13 of the 1987 Constitution provides that the state shall undertake the just distribution of all agricultural lands, subject to such priorities and reasonable retention limits as the Congress may prescribe.
The DAR, in coordination with the Agriculture and the Environment departments, is tasked to undertake the validation of lands, taking into consideration their suitability for agricultural use, limitations on their use under existing laws and issuances, their respective metes and bounds, and such other relevant criteria.
EO 129-A, which was signed in 1987, gives the DAR the power to acquire, administer, distribute, and develop agricultural lands for agrarian reform purposes.
The EO also delegates the DAR to acquire all lands owned by government offices that can be used for land reform.
However, the acquisition of government-owned agricultural lands by the DAR is subject to the limitations and conditions provided under applicable laws, rules, and issuances.
"Subject to restrictions under applicable laws, rules and issuances, the DAR shall acquire the identified lands of concerned agencies for eventual distribution thereof to qualified beneficiaries, for cultivation or agricultural use," the order stressed.
Duterte likewise directed the DAR and the Department of Justice to jointly formulate the implementing rules and regulation regarding the validation, segregation, transfer and distribution of government-owned lands.
All other government offices and agencies are directed to provide "prompt and necessary" assistance.
The funding necessary for the initial implementation of EO 75 will be taken from sources that will be identified by the budget department.
EO 75, signed by Duterte on February 14, was made public by Palace on Wednesday, February 20. (SunStar Philippines)