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Friday, March 29, 2024

DAR vows to give land titles to Hacienda Tinang farmers

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There is now light at the end of the tunnel for the farmers’ struggle to own the land they till in a sugarcane plantation in Concepcion, Tarlac.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) on Friday said it would award certificates of land ownership to the farmers in Hacienda Tinang in Concepcion before June 30.

Some 90 farmers and their supporters were recently arrested during a protest action in disputed Hacienda Tinang.

At least 177 farmers were deemed qualified to receive certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) based on a validation conducted last month, said DAR Assistant Secretary John Laña.

A total of 236 individuals claim to be beneficiaries of agrarian reform in the plantation.

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“Many have sold their individual rights. Some did not even work for the Dominicans who gave up the land, others converted their land without approval from DAR,” said in a public briefing.

“We promised that we will award the CLOAs to qualified beneficiaries before June 30. I am not saying all 236 will get one, so far only 177 are qualified in the initial list,” Laña said.

The government issued a collective CLOA on Sept. 26, 1995, Laña noted. He said he was puzzled why it has yet to be distributed to farmers.

Another group of 400 farmers were also claiming parts of the disputed land, but have no records with DAR, Laña said.

“Wala rin po [sila] sa register of deeds, Land Registration Authority. In short, what we only have as of this moment is only 236 individuals in the collective CLOA,” the official said.

Incoming Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III earlier said he would prioritize the investigation of the controversial arrest of Tinang farmers to prevent “violence that we might not be able to control.”

The Commission on Human Rights is also investigating the matter.

Meanwhile, the arrested farmers and their supporters refuse to enter plea over the so-called ‘bungkalan’ incident which was part of their protest action.

The 83 Hacienda Tinang farmers and their supporters on Friday refused to enter a plea over the charges filed against them before the Capas, Tarlac Regional Trial Court, their lawyer said Friday.

Charges of malicious mischief and illegal assembly were filed against the 83 accused for performing a ceremonial cultivation of land or “bungkalan” in Hacienda Tinang to mark the anniversary of the passage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) law last June 10.

“Tapos na arraignment and an overwhelming majority of the Tinang 83, when asked by the court how they would plea, have manifested, I am being harassed by state, I refuse to enter a plea,” lawyer Erickson dela Cruz, co-counsel for the accused collectively known as Tinang 83, said in a statement.

“The court then entered a plea of not guilty for these accused,” he added.

As this developed, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) expressed support for the Tinang farmers and their supporters by calling for the dropping of all charges against them.

“The baseless charges and accusations against the farmers and advocates remain. The installation of the Tinang farmers to the lands awarded to them remains stalled and undone. The quest for justice continues,” the group said.

“We insist: Planting food is not a crime and supporting farmers is not a criminal act,” the farmers stressed.

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