Farmers want DAR to retain power to sign off on agri land transfers

FARMERS’ groups said they are seeking the withdrawal of a directive issued by Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado M. Estrella III removing his department’s approval powers for the transfer or sale of certain types of private agricultural land.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the Magsasaka Party-List (MPL) and the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) said the administrative order (AO), dated Jan. 27,  could affect an estimated 1.2 million agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) cultivating about 1.8 million hectares.

They said the order removing the requirement for Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) sign-off could undermine decades of social justice gains and facilitate the reconcentration of land ownership.

“It eases the pathway to massive conversions of farmland by real estate and other commercial interests and, in the process, endangers farmers’ livelihoods and the nation’s food security,” MPL President Argel Joseph T. Cabatbat and FFF Chairman Leonardo Q. Montemayor said in the statement.

The AO removed the requirement for DAR approval for the transfer, sale, or conveyance of privately owned agricultural land not covered by a notice of acquisition as of the June 30, 2014 deadline set by Republic Act No. 9700 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program with Extension and Reforms Law.

The policy also applies to land awarded through Emancipation Patents or Certificates of Land Ownership Awards after completion of the 10-year holding period.

The groups said that while the order restates the rights of farm tenants and workers to security of tenure, preemption, and redemption, it does not provide enough protections.

“DAR must actively shield our agrarian reform beneficiaries from predatory market forces and forcible evictions resulting from expedited land transfers or conversions,” they said.

They also called on DAR to work with the Land Bank of the Philippines to ensure that beneficiaries have access to financing to exercise their rights.

Mr. Estrella did not immediately respond to a Viber message seeking comment. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel