THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Negros Occidental continues to distribute land covered under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp) in the province amid the ongoing pandemic.
In the northern portion of Negros Occidental, the latest distribution involved a 12-hectare land to 14 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) at Hacienda Estrella in Barangay Sicaba, Cadiz City last week.
Since the province is still under the modified general community quarantine, the certificate of land ownership award distribution complied with the minimum health protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Department of Health.
Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer Rodrigo Jose Villaluna, who led the activity, said they hoped that the awarded land may serve as "fuel to the farmers’ soul" to alleviate their lives.
Rhodora Obani, legal officer of DAR-Cadiz City, explained the rights and obligations of every ARB, who are now the owner of the landholding formerly owned by Arsenio Jison.
Moreover, the Cloa distribution activity was conducted through the Land Acquisition and Distribution process provided under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms.
Under the program, the agency aims to provide lands to landless farmers and farmworkers, guarantee the farmers' land security, deliver social equity, and provide them with the necessary productive resources needed to ensure their economic viability and productivity.
Such continuous field activities conducted by the DAR are evidence that despite the inconveniences brought by the pandemic, the service for the Filipino people lives on, the agency said.