Baguio City – Officials and employees of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Pangasinan Provincial Office Land Tenure Improvement and Agrarian Justice Delivery Sectors attended an intensive capacity-building seminar on pertinent Agrarian Reform Laws, procedural rules, and guidelines relative      to the Agrarian Reform Program.

The activity held on March 14-15, 2024 aimed to give employees of the Land Tenure Services, Legal Division, and DAR Adjudication Board (DARAB) Pangasinan, a uniform understanding of the developments relative to the Agrarian Reforms Laws.

The sessions were led by experts in the field, with DARAB Board Members (BM) Atty. Jim G. Coleto and Atty. Rolando S. Cua, and Atty. Ali Lorraine V. Manrique of the Office for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) of the Department of Justice, as resource speakers.

BM Atty. Coleto provided an in-depth lecture on the 2021 DARAB Revised Rules of Procedure, as well as the prevailing jurisprudence on Agrarian Law, including the Revised Agrarian Law Implementation (ALI) Rules and the Rules Governing the Forfeiture of the Agrarian Reform Program Award. He also shared his expertise in legal and communication writing.

Meanwhile, BM Atty. Cua tackled the Department’s frontline services — Land Transfer Clearance, Land Transfer Action, and Conversion. His subject further covered Administrative Determination of Just Compensation and Handling of Just Compensation Cases.

Atty. Manrique provided a detailed discussion on ADR Techniques. The DAR utilizes such methods to lessen conflicts maturing into court cases.

Before the series of lectures, Provincial Agrarian Reform Adjudicator (PARAD) for Pangasinan Atty. Jedidiah Martin M. Lauraya opened the seminar with his succinct presentation on Effectiveness and Integrity in the Public Service. PARAD Atty. Lauraya was followed by PARAD for La Union, Atty. Doris Rabang-Briones, who tackled Gender and Sensitivity in the Workplace in time with the National Women’s Month Celebration. (za)