BACOLOD CITY — Agrarian Reform Secretary Rosalina Bistoyong told farmer-beneficiaries in Negros Occidental that they have no reason to lease out their awarded lands as government services are available to assist them.
Bistoyong made the call during the “Kampanya Kontra Ariendo” event in La Castellana town in southern Negros on Thursday.
Ariendo refers to the leasing out of farm lands.
The chief of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said that “ariendo” is quite rampant, especially in sugarcane areas, including Negros Occidental, which has the largest land area covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
Bistoyong said the focus of DAR has shifted from land acquisition and distribution to provision of more support services to make the awarded land become productive.
“We are trying to counter the ‘ariendo’ system,” she added.
Records of DAR-Negros Occidental II indicated that about 20,000 hectares awarded to 8,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in southern Negros are believed to be subject of “verbal” lease transactions.
The DAR said overdependence on former landowners and lack of knowledge on how to manage the land are the major reasons why ARBs are resorting to the “ariendo” system.
Leasing, selling, and illegal transfer of land is tantamount to perpetual disqualification from the CARP.
Bistoyong, who spoke before hundreds of ARBs from cities and municipalities in the Fifth District, urged them to commit not to lease out or sell their lands.
The DAR chief said that she would check if they fulfilled their promise when she comes back to Negros Occidental.
“We are starting the campaign in Negros. We will replicate this in other provinces,” she added. (PNA)
