Regional Director Stephen M. Leonidas officially assumed his post as the new head of the Department of Agrarian Reform-Eastern Visayas (Region VIII).
Leonidas replaced lawyer Sheila Enciso, who was reassigned to DAR-Western Visayas region. Enciso formally turned over to Leonidas the symbolic key of responsibility, as well as the ISO 9001:2015 and the PRIME-HRM Level 2 manuals, during the turnover rites at the Oriental Hotel.
The reassignments were carried out by virtue of the Special Order 504 issued Aug. 13 by Agrarian Reform Secretary John R. Castriciones.
Leonidas, a resident of Bacolod City, is the 19th DAR-Eastern Visayas regional director. His previous assignments included being regional director for the regional offices of the DAR in Western and Central Visayas.
Leonidas said, he is not new to Eastern Visayas, having been invited to work with the Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officers here on claim folder review during the time of former DAR Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes.
“RD Shee also invited me as one of the lecturers to local municipal agrarian reform officers after the onslaught of Super Typhoon Yolanda,” he added.
More than 62,000 hectares of farmlands are still up for distribution to qualified farmer beneficiaries in the region, which is composed of the provinces of Leyte, Western Samar, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar and Southern Leyte.