Zero backlog on land cases

MANILA -- The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) on Monday reported a ‘zero backlog’ on cases on land acquisition and distribution, resolving 100 percent of its pending cases related to agrarian justice delivery.

Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriciones said the speedy resolution of agrarian cases under the agrarian legal implementation and agrarian legal assistance could ease the tensions between and among farmer-beneficiaries and landowners.

“We resolved the pending cases as expeditiously as possible while ensuring that decisions are fully supported by the evidence on record, the law, and the applicable jurisprudence,” he added.

He said those pending cases are the reason why a lot of farmers are protesting and complaining about the department’s land-related services.

“Now we can assure you that all forthcoming

cases that are coming in will be resolved on time and will be resolved with quality and at the same we will be able to deliver that two justice that our farmers are clamoring for,” he said noting that the protests for the past years have already lessened.

He said the department is now on the process of sustaining the ‘zero backlog’ program to avoid piling up of pending cases, adding that “instead of hearing complaints from the farmers, the department will conduct more dialogues and consultations with them, to address their agrarian-related issues and concerns.”

Castriciones lauded the DAR personnel for serving the public with improved delivery of land acquisition programs for the farmers who have been complaining about social justice for the longest time.

“We were able to comply with the zero backlogs, we are now and we have already launched two new projects: which of course is 100-percent log accomplishments and 100-percent support service delivery of our support services offices,” he said.

Based on the report, the department’s zero backlog program settled about 4,041 pending cases in 15 regions nationwide from 2019 backward.

Meanwhile, Castriciones said more or less 150,000 land hectares

were already distributed to Filipino farmers under the Duterte administration.

“If we will be distributing around 1.6 land hectares, more or less 75,000 to 85,000 farmers will benefit from it,” he said.

The Bureau of Agrarian Legal Assistance (BALA) handles the resolution of agrarian cases, representation of beneficiaries before judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, mediation and consultation.

The Adjudication of Agrarian Cases of the DAR Adjudication Board, on the other hand, handles regular cases and determination of land valuation. (PNA)