CoA flags DAR land distribution to ineligible beneficiaries
THE Commission on Audit (CoA) has flagged the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for distributing lands to ineligible individuals under a landmark land distribution law due to the lack of a monitoring system, leaving hundreds of redistributed farmlands idle or abandoned.
In a December report, state auditors said that DAR gave 235 unqualified individuals with ownership of farmlands nationwide, with 117 beneficiaries receiving lots spanning over three hectares, both contrary to the 1998 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
DAR did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
“The lack of effective monitoring system by the DARPOs (Department of Agrarian Reform Provincial Office) on the performance of each ARB (Agrarian Reform Beneficiary) has led to the unproductive or untilled lands awarded to the beneficiaries,” a part of the CoA report stated.
“To wit: 235 ARBs recipients of the Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) in 18 provinces did not meet the eligibility requirement… [while] 117 ARBs in 16 provinces received land in excess of the established three-hectare limit or a total of 72.50 hectares,” it added.
Signed into law during the administration of late former President Maria Corazon S. Cojuangco-Aquino, CARP paved the way for the state to redistribute agricultural lands to landless farmers.
Agricultural land set for distribution could also be granted to farmworkers, tillers and cooperatives, according to the land law.
“A basic qualification of a beneficiary shall be his willingness, aptitude, and ability to cultivate and make the land as productive as possible,” Sec 7. of the 26-year-old law stated.
“The DAR shall adopt a system of monitoring the record or performance of each beneficiary, so that any beneficiary guilty of negligence or misuse of the land or any support extended to him shall forfeit his right to continue as such beneficiary,” it added.
CoA observed that the 235 unfit beneficiaries were not residents of the barangays or municipalities of the distributed lands; neither were they willing to make the farm lots agriculturally productive.
This led to some of the lands being sold for non-agricultural purposes, resulting in the construction of houses or buildings.
“The inaction or failure to resolve said issues by the DARPOs defeated the purpose for which the CARP was implemented,” CoA stated. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
