DAR Central Office cascades Administrative Order No. 2 S. 2023 to strengthen Executive Order 75 S. 2019 implementation in Mindanao

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Central Office’s Bureau of Land Acquisition and Distribution (BLAD) has recently concluded a 3-day orientation on the issuance of Administrative Order No. 2 S. 2023 regarding the guidelines on the implementation of Executive Order No. 75 S. 2019 for the Mindanao island group at Kawa Resort, Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte.

This activity, which ran from July 1-3, 2024, is aimed at developing a shared understanding on the salient provisions of AO 2 S. 2023. As such, this cascade was attended by key officials and representatives from regions IX, X, XII, and XIII.

DAR Caraga Regional Director, Atty. Merlita S. Capinpuyan expressed, “We encourage everyone to actively engage in discussions, seek clarifications, and share your insights. I hope that by the end of this event, you will leave with a comprehensive understanding of the administrative order and a renewed confidence in your roles as its implementers.”

EO 75 S. 2019 is a special issuance as it gives way for the possible ownership of land to agricultural lessees or share tenants, farmworkers, and the like – but by also paving the way for agricultural graduates, retired military, uniformed, and non-uniformed personnel, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and even rebel returnees to become landowners. 

Under EO 75 S. 2019, it provides that, “DAR shall acquire all lands devoted to or suitable for agriculture, which are owned by the departments, bureaus, offices, and instrumentalities of the Government, and which are no longer actually, directly, and exclusively used or necessary for the purposes for which they have been reserved or acquired for the purpose of eventual distribution to qualified beneficiaries.”

And as stated in the provisions of DAR-DOJ Joint Administrative Order (JAO) No. 07 S. 2019, as also stated in AO 2 S. 2023, DAR shall undertake the vital role as lead agency in EO 75 S. 2019’s implementation.

Further, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., on his first State of the Nation Address on July 25, 2022, has already set his goal by focusing on the expeditious completion of EO 75 S. 2019, by explicitly directing DAR to expedite EO 75 S. 2019, which at the time had an estimated aggregate area of 52,000 hectares of unused government-owned lands for acquisition.

Undersecretary for the Office of Mindanao Affairs, Amihilda J. Sangcopan, also shared during her inspirational message that, “Everybody is a student here in this activity. I know it is a hard process for us to learn and unlearn, but I hope that after the cascading, we will be able to take with us the learnings that will help us implement EO 75 (S. 2019).”

Whilst, Undersecretary for Field Operations Office, Atty. Kazel C. Celeste, conveyed a message of camaraderie and unity by saying, “Let us all work together hand-in-hand to fulfill the mandates of DAR, especially this, EO 75 (S. 2019).”

Serving as one of the main resource speakers, BLAD Director IV, Jamil P. Amatonding Jr., gave a comprehensive overview on the activity’s objectives and rationale. And Atty. Cesaria Dane Castillo discussed the contents of AO 2 S. 2023, with BLAD Director III Abdullah M. Linog going over the 24 GOL forms field implementers must comply with to properly document the acquisition and distribution processes under EO 75 S. 2019.

Along with the AO 2 S. 2023 orientation, Director Amatonding maximized the participants’ time by also discussing updates on the status of validation activities of Republic Act No. 11953, otherwise known as the “New Agrarian Emancipation Act,”  which has condoned land amortization debt of 610,054 covered beneficiaries nationwide, and DAR’s Operational Tool (OpTool) which contains data on the agency’s target, accomplishments, and other specifics, like profiles of landowners and agrarian reform beneficiaries, location, and the number of hectares covered by the program, among others.

 

In keeping with the President’s directive under the leadership of Secretary Conrado M. Estrella III, with the conclusion of this 3-day event, DAR is all the more prepared and ready to face the challenges, along with the successes, that EO 75 S. 2019 has in store.