Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriciones is set to meet field officials in Central Luzon on June 11 to finalize strategies and mechanisms to immediately distribute all government-owned lands (GOLs) in the region.
“The distribution of idle government-owned lands is a top priority of the DAR Secretary following the issuance by President Rodrigo Duterte of Executive Order No. 75, series of 2019,” Central Luzon regional director Maria Celestina Tam said.
According to the Department of Agrarian Reform chief, EO 75 directs all government instrumentalities to identify lands owned by the government devoted or suitable for agricultural purposes for distribution to identified qualified beneficiaries.
In Pampanga alone, DAR is eyeing to fast track the distribution of 300 hectares of land within the Pampanga State Agricultural University or PSAU, Tam said.
Other areas would follow suit to identify GOLs for possible distribution to agrarian reform beneficiaries in their respective provinces, she added.
Castriciones would visit San Fernando City, Pampanga coinciding with the celebration of the 33rdanniversary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, where a general assembly of all DAR Region 3 officials and personnel would be held.
He, together with his other top officials, would tackle the major issues in the region, and draw up the necessary measures to ensure a swift distribution of all agricultural lands in Central Luzon, specifically those owned by the government which are suitable for agricultural purposes.