THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is set to distribute 450 land titles to beneficiaries of Hacienda Tinang in Concepcion, Tarlac in two weeks.
In a press conference in Malacañang, DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III said the case of Hacienda Tinang has finally reached a conclusion, which is final and executory.
“We are happy to inform everybody that our formula of multiple shuttle diplomacy and constantly holding dialogues with the stakeholders ay finally we were able to resolve this case and mayroon tayong nailabas na desisyon na tungkol dito sa (we’ve released a decision on this) Hacienda Tinang,” he said.
“The wonderful thing about it after we released the decision on this case, wala hong nag-file ng appeal, walang nag-protesta and as a matter of it, ito ay final na ho at executory dahil walang nag-file ng appeal at nagprotesta (no one has filed an appeal or protest, so this is final and executory)," he added.
Estrella said within two weeks, 450 beneficiaries will receive their respective land titles. The titles totaled to 200 hectares of land area.
It was in 1995 when the DAR issued a collective Certificate of Land Ownership and Award to farmers of Hacienda Tinang.
On June 9, 2022, at least 91 farmers were arrested for taking part in a cultivation activity to aid and show solidarity for the farmers struggling to claim the land.
They were charged with malicious mischief and illegal assembly, but these were later dismissed by the court.
Estrella said resolving “vintage” land cases were one of the marching orders of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to DAR.
"Iyan ang marching order ng ating Pangulo. ‘Ayusin na ninyo iyan at kung maaari, wala nang vintage cases because, iyon nga, justice delayed is justice denied.' Iyan ang sabi ng ating Pangulo," he said.
(That is the marching order of our President. 'Fix that and if possible, there will be no more vintage cases because, that is, justice delayed is justice denied.' That's what our President said.)
"Ang problema namin kaya kami 'di makaarangkada ay kulang kami sa mga abogado (The problem is we lack lawyers). And we can only hire lawyers initially na ang sweldo ay only P50,000 and it will be difficult for us to hire credible and capable lawyers with only P50,000 a month," Estrella added.
He said they will come up with resolution of more cases in the coming days, noting that there are at least 500,000 hectares of land for distribution to beneficiaries. (SunStar Philippines)