Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)

Western Visayas resolved highest agrarian case – DAR

Publishing Date: Monday, March 8, 2010 (09:25 AM)

Agrarian reform Secretary Nasser C. Pangandaman commended the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) region 6 office for having the highest case resolution rate among other DAR regional offices.

Pangandaman said the DAR-6, otherwise called Western Visayas region, which compose of Aklan, Antique, Negros Occidental, Capiz, Guimaras and Iloilo provinces, resolved 5,036 agrarian cases in 2009. The other DAR regional offices that delivered high case resolution are DAR region 3 with 3,890 and DAR-7 with 2,701, while the other regional offices resolved almost identical figures with more than a thousand agrarian cases.

“All in all, the cases resolved by DAR nationwide last year is 24,672 out of 33,550 agrarian cases, which is a positive indication that the department is in very much on track in its bid for zero-backlog in agrarian cases within five years,” Pangandaman said.

Pangandaman added he expects to chip little by little from the 8,878 pending cases at the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) until it accomplishes a zero balance by the end of 2014.

“The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program with extension reform (CARPer) has only five-year duration. To attain this goal, the department directed the DARAB and Legal Affairs Office (LAO) to simplify and shorten the legal proceedings by doing away with unnecessary steps that only contribute to the delay in the resolution cases,” the Secretary said.

The DAR head added that priority should also be given to land acquisition and distribution-related cases, flashpoint and cases involving bigger hectarage in the disposition and resolution of cases.

Pangandaman further added that one legal strategy that works well is the classification of cases according to their age where older cases get the highest priority.

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DAR prepares CARP Five Year Implementing Program

Publishing Date: Thursday, March 4, 2010 (4:46 PM)

To come up with the CARP Five Year Implementing Program, the Department of Agrarian Reform in coordination with the PARC Secretariat and the CIAs and Oversight Agencies held a Strategic Planning Workshop for the Formulation of the CARP Five-Year Implementing Program and Budget (2009 -2014) on March 2-5, 2010 with Cong. Elias Bulut as Guest of Honor.

The event was attended by members of CARP Implementing agencies such as the DENR, Land Bank of the Philippines, LRA, DPWH, NIA, DTI, and DOLE-BWSC, Representatives from oversight agencies such as the NEDA, DBM and the House Committee on Agrarian Reform and the Senate Committee on Agrarian Reform also participated in the planning workshop.

Cong. Bulut delivered an inspirational message and provided updates on the organization of the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agrarian Reform (COCAR).

The Strategic planning workshop was aimed at reviewing the DAR vision and mission in the light o RA 9700 or the CARPER Law. After completing the implementing rules and regulations of the law, the DAR has initiated the strategic planning workshop to formulate the CARP Five Year Implementing program and budget so that the implementation of CARPER for the next four years will be done in the most efficient, effective and harmonious manner and in accordance with the provisions of the new law and its IRRs.