Nasugbu ARBs cry harassment
Agrarian reform beneficiaries, or ARBs, in Nasugbu, Batangas revealed over the weekend efforts to intimidate them into moving out of the three haciendas recovered from them by Roxas and Company Inc.
Members of the Aga Farmers Association said unidentified men were roaming around their barangay, asking questions about the ARBs and the Certificates of Land Ownership Award they held.
A Consolidated Order issued by the Department of Agrarian Reform would move the ARBs out of the three haciendas to a mountainous area without power and water.
Aga Farmers Association leader Gilbert del Mundo has been receiving text messages from their former lawyer, Nenita Mahinay, allegedly telling them to submit to the DAR and its consolidated order.
“He was told to go easy in fighting the (DAR) order. Attorney Mahinay allegedly told him that their foes are big people, thus it’s better to just follow the order,” a DAILY TRIBUNE source said quoting Del Mundo.
The ARBs are mulling a disbarment case against Mahinay allegedly for not immediately telling them about the DAR consolidated order.
The 2,941 hectares of disputed land, namely, haciendas Palico, Banilad, and Caylaway, all located in Nasugbu, are on the brink of repossession by the publicly listed RCI after decades of litigation.
Barangay Aga with a more than 8,000 population, along with five other barangays, is situated inside Hacienda Caylaway, the land that was awarded to the Roxas company based on the 50-50 sharing ruling in the consolidated order of DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III last 29 December 2023.
Meanwhile, DAR Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Napoleon Galit said approximately 1,300 farmers in Nasugbu are set to receive CLOAs within the next three months.
“Additionally, the farmers will also enjoy the benefits of additional landholdings from government-owned lands. The town of Nasugbu stands to benefit, as this initiative addresses the longstanding issue of unidentifiable owners responsible for paying the real estate taxes,” Galit said in a statement on Friday.
He said the Supreme Court, in a pivotal 1991 case, already declared the nullity of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program coverage at Palico, Banilad, and Caylaway, encompassing approximately 2,941 hectares.
“However, it refrained from annulling the CLOAs issued, allowing the DAR to rectify the administrative error. The ruling acknowledged the exclusive authority of the DAR secretary to cancel issued CLOAs,” he said.