[ Malaya.com.ph ] June 3, 2008
THE Department of Agrarian Reform on Monday said it is the Department of Justice which has jurisdiction over the fate of the 650-hectare parcels of land within the Davao Penal Colony in reply to the plea of some 135 ex-convicts belonging to the Sto. Tomas Bagong Buhay Association for DAR to distribute the said land to them under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
"We are waiting for DOJ's decision on this matter, it is outside our jurisdiction," DAR Secretary Nasser Pangandaman said in reference to the Dapecol real estate which has been leased to the Tagum Agricultural Development Corp. (Tadeco) owned by the Floirendo family.
Pangandaman said that if the DOJ turns over the land, "we would immediately process it under the agrarian reform program (since) under the law, (government-owned) lands which are not utilized should be under CARP."
ST Bagong Buhay president Pablo Deuna quickly belied Pangandaman's claim, saying that the 650 hectares had already been turned over by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to DAR through a deed of transfer in August 1990. "Wala na sa DOJ, naturn-over na ang lupa. Tapos na. Nasa DAR na nga at for distribution na," Deuna said. "Minsan lang ang transfer, kasama ng 650 hectares, di pupuwedeng doble o maulit pa ito."
According to the deed of transfer executed by BuCor Director Mileton Goyeno to then DAR Secretary Benjamin Leong, "BuCor and Dapecol have nothing to do anymore with the parcels of land already transferred to DAR, together with its supervision, control and distribution."
Meanwhile, farmers belonging to the Laiya-Ibabao Samahang Magsasaka (Lisamag) yesterday raised a howl over Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita's order last May 28 reversing a previous DAR decision and allowing the practically-defunct Hennessy Corp. to convert a 124-hectare agricultural land in Barangay Laiya-Ibabao in San Juan, Batangas to an eco-tourism site.
The Lisamag members have been awaiting the distribution of the said land to them under CARP following a recent notice of coverage (NOC) issued by Batangas provincial agrarian reform officer Cynthia Lapid that there were no more legal impediments to placing the property under CARP.
The order by Ermita, a Batangueño himself, nullified the NOC by setting aside DAR's Dec. 21, 2006 decision denying Hennessy's petition for extension of the land conversion period.
"Our government is such a hypocrite. They called for a moratorium on the conversion of rice lands but they allowed this land conversion. What rankles is the conversion order was for the benefit of Hennessy Development Corp. whose registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission has been revoked as far back as 2003," the Lisamag members said in Filipino.
Hennessy had the five-year land conversion order in its possession since 1998 but failed to develop the property until it lapsed in 2003. The firm blamed this on the late issuance (only in February 2003) of the environmental compliance certificate by the DENR, and the threats of coup d'etat that drove away investors.
In granting Hennessy's appeal, Ermita found merit in the firm's claim that its request for extension was not filed in time because DAR allegedly told it to "wait until the expiration of the five-year conversion," that the land was no longer agricultural since the surrounding areas had been converted for eco-tourism, and that distribution of the property to new farmer-beneficiaries was no longer feasible because previous tenants had been paid disturbance compensations. - Randy Nobleza
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