Tuesday, May 06, 2008 [ sunstar.com.ph ]
FARMERS seeking the distribution of the Arroyo-owned Hacienda Bacan in Negros Occidental have expressed hope they may be issued certificates of land ownership award (Cloas) this month.
Recently the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the Land Bank of the Philippines agreed to proceed with the long-pending valuation of the property.
"The farmers are very hopeful because the valuation would pave the way for the generation and issuance of Cloas," said Jose Rodito Angeles, president of the peasant federation Task Force Mapalad (T1FM) in a statement to SunStar.
In a meeting with farmers recently, DAR and Land Bank agreed to conduct an ocular inspection of the 157-hectare hacienda, located in Barangay Guintubhan, Isabela, prior to issuance of the valuation.
Hacienda Bacan, owned by Rivulet Agro-Industrial Corporation, was under the coverage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp) in 1996 through compulsory acquisition. In 2001 Representative Ignacio 'Iggy' Arroyo, president of the Rivulet Corporation, offered the property to Carp under voluntary offer to sell (VOS) scheme.
The sale of the property to Carp was approved by the board of directors of Rivulet Corporation.
DAR prepared a claim folder, which the agency submitted to Land Bank for valuation of the property. Land Bank however returned the claim folder, saying that some documents showed First Gentleman Mike Arroyo as the property owner. This should be annotated in the hacienda's title.
In a notarized Declaration of Trust issued by FG Mike Arroyo last October, he disclaimed any interest in the property and allowed Rivulet Corporation to sell the hacienda to Carp.
Angeles said DAR and Land Bank are already in the process of correcting some deficiencies in the documents contained in the claim folder of Hacienda Bacan.
"We are happy that after seven years of waiting, the 67 farmer-petitioners, 30 of whom belong to TFM, have good reason to hope for the best.
The Carp process in Hacienda Bacan has resumed and Dar and Land Bank are doing their best now to facilitate the distribution of the property," added Angeles.
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