DAR prioritizes distribution of agriculture lands to ‘Odette’ victims
Victims of typhoon “Odette” will receive unused government-owned lands (GOLs) and private agricultural lands (PALs) in the first quarter of 2022, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said on Wednesday, Dec 29.
In order to expedite the process, DAR Secretary Bernie F. Cruz has directed his field officials to submit a consolidated list of all unused GOLs and PALs, which could be distributed immediately to potential agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).
DAR’s initiative came after President Duterte instructed the department and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to expedite the distribution of agricultural lands to typhoon victims.
In a statement, Cruz ordered the field officials to prioritize and fast-track the acquisition and distribution of unused GOLs, which should be accomplished within the first three months of 2022.
“All regional directors are directed to submit a consolidated list of all unused GOLs inventory of the Field Operations Office and private agricultural lands to the Office of the Secretary, copy furnished the Offices of the Undersecretaries for Field Operations and Policy, Planning and Research on or before January 10, 2022, for distribution on the first quarter of 2022,” Cruz said.
On Dec. 16, “Odette” made its first landfall and devastated at least six regions, mostly in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Based on the data from the Department of Agriculture, the damage to agriculture is now at P8 billion while the affected fishermen and farmers are now at 113,479.
SIGN UP TO DAILY NEWSLETTER
