DAR municipal officers to monitor CLOA holders

MUNICIPAL Agrarian Reform Program Officers (MARPOs) of DAR-Iloilo with DAR Secretary John R. Castriciones (sitting, third form right) and other DAR Officials.

MUNICIPAL officers of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Iloilo were told to closely monitor the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) who are recipients of Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

DAR Secretary John R. Castriciones issued the order a conference with the Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officers (MARPOs) of DAR-Iloilo.

MARPOs should visit the ARBs to check if they are the one’s tilling their lands and to report to the PARO those that are not in possession for proper action.

Cases should be filed to get back those lands and to redistribute the lands to those who are willing, the Secretary said.

Likewise, he also directed the MARPOs to monitor the ARB Organizations especially those that are still struggling to facilitate and make available to them various interventions under the program.

Castriciones wanted to correct the practice that the developed ARBOs are the ones who often benefit from all the interventions and assistance compared to those who are less developed who seldom benefit.

He said that the primary concern of the department is the ARBs whose rights and interests should be protected.

The secretary underscored that MARPOs should work as a team and there should be proper coordination with the Land Bank of the Philippines for the delivery of the Claim Folders, with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the approval of the survey plans, and the Registry of Deeds (ROD) for the registration of CLOAs.

He said he gives leeway and does not want to interfere with the MARPOs’ creativity and innovativeness in delivering their performance.

Assistant Regional Director (ARD) and concurrent OIC-Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer (PARPO) II Ronald M. Gareza committed to deliver 1,000 hectares to be distributed for 2018, a 100% claim folder documentation, and zero backlogs in the resolution of legal cases.

Gareza added that he would re-strategize with the 20 MARPOs the five indicators involved in Program Beneficiaries Development (PBD) to ensure that basic support services are provided to the ARBs.

DAR Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Office (LAO) Atty. Luis Meinrado C. Pangulayan, said MARPOs are the frontliners of the program implementation, “no program implementation when there are no MARPOs.”

They should also monitor cases of illegal conversion and should give insights about the landholding.

The latest administrative order requiring public consultations on land use conversion applications aims to ensure transparency and to solicit public sentiments and provide opportunities for any interested party to present comments and sentiments about the certain land use conversion applications.

Meanwhile, MARPOs were also given the chance to raise important issues and concerns that they commonly encounter in the field.

These were issues on the payment of Real Property Tax (RPT) by the ARBs to the Local Government Units and the land amortization with the Land Bank of th Philippines.

MARPOs were told to closely coordinate with the agencies concerned in order to thresh out issues and to facilitate factors that affect the rights and interests of the ARBs.

SOURCE: The Daily Guardian