DAR vows to give land titles to Hacienda Tinang farmers

THERE is now light at the end of the tunnel for the farmers’ struggle to own the land they till in a sugarcane plantation in Concepcion, Tarlac.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) on Friday said it would award certificates of land ownership to the farmers in Hacienda Tinang in Concepcion before June 30.

Some 90 farmers and their supporters were recently arrested during a protest action in disputed Hacienda Tinang.

At least 177 farmers were deemed qualified to receive certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) based on a validation conducted last month, said DAR Assistant Secretary John Laña.

A total of 236 individuals claim to be beneficiaries of agrarian reform in the plantation.

“Many have sold their individual rights. Some did not even work for the Dominicans who gave up the land, others converted their land without approval from DAR,” said in a public briefing.

“We promised that we will award the CLOAs to qualified beneficiaries before June 30. I am not saying all 236 will get one, so far only 177 are qualified in the initial list,” Laña said.

The government issued a collective CLOA on Sept. 26, 1995, Laña noted. He said he was puzzled why it has yet to be distributed to farmers.

Another group of 400 farmers were also claiming parts of the disputed land, but have no records with DAR, Laña said.

“Wala rin po [sila] sa register of deeds, Land Registration Authority. In short, what we only have as of this moment is only 236 individuals in the collective CLOA,” the official said.