Two groups called on government to fast track the unfinished land acquisition and distribution (LAD) in Negros Occidental on Friday, June 9, a day ahead of the 35th anniversary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
Damayan ng mga Manggagawa, Magsasaka, at Mangingisda held a protest in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform- Negros Occidental South office in Bacolod City to call for government action.
Guillermo Barreta Jr., Damayan vice president for Visayas, said they are calling on government to fast-track the land distribution and remove all corruption activities that are delaying the process.
The protest was also intended to call for a dialog with DAR-South Negros officials but none of them showed up, he said.
That is why they will air their demands at the DAR central office in Manila next week as many farmers are still waiting for their land under CARP, he said.
They are also calling for faster land acquisition and distribution, an end to conversion of agricultural lands, and the implementation of free land condonation and amortization mandated by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., a Damayan statement said.
Task Force Mapalad, in a press statement, reiterated its demand for DAR provincial and municipal officials to proceed with the LAD, which is a key component of the CARP, and to speed up the work on claim folders, the conduct of surveys and the installation of ARBs.*