PHNO-HL: AGRARIAN REFORM: AQUINO ORDERS DAR, DBM CHIEFS TO MEET FARMERS

AGRARIAN REFORM: AQUINO ORDERS DAR, DBM CHIEFS TO
MEET FARMERS

MANILA, JUNE
8, 2012 (INQUIRER) By Christine
O. Avendaño - President Benigno Aquino, wrapping up a visit to London, on
Wednesday directed administration officials to meet with farmers marching on
Malacañang on Friday to demand the full implementation of the agrarian reform
program before its expiration in two years, his spokesperson said.
Edwin Lacierda said Mr. Aquino would have presided over the meeting with the
farmers had he been in Manila to hear their concerns and assure them that the
government was moving to distribute nearly 1 million hectares of prime
agricultural land that have so far evaded coverage of the program.
The President departed on Monday for London to attend festivities marking the
60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. He was to proceed to Washington
for a three-day US visit.
According to Lacierda, Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes and
Budget Secretary Florencio Abad will meet with the farmers at 2 p.m. on Friday
to address concerns brought to Malacañang in a letter by the Most Rev. Broderick
Pabillo, head of the National Secretariat for Social Action of the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines.
To dispel bias
"They are under the impression that since the President belongs to the
Cojuangco clan, we are biased against land distribution. We would like to dispel
that belief," Lacierda told reporters at a briefing.
He said that unknown to Pabillo, De Los Reyes had met several times with
farmers of Hacienda Luisita, which is owned by Mr. Aquino's family, and that the
government was "in the process of distributing land" there following a Supreme
Court decision on November 22 ordering the partitioning of the 5,000 ha estate
to some 6,000 workers.
Lacierda said Palace officials would explain to the farmers what De los Reyes
had already told Pabillo early last month about the government's efforts to
distribute agricultural lands. "This is not the least performing administration
in so far as distributing land," he said.
The government had already distributed government agricultural lands as this
was easier to dispose given that the "government owns them and can issue titles,
and determine limits and bounds," he said.
Right now, the government is in the process of acquiring the "more difficult"
private agricultural lands, Lacierda said.
"You have cases being filed by the private owners in terms of valuation, in
terms of necessity. So there are concerns on that and that's the reason why
those things have been the subject of concern by some stakeholders and we need
to explain the situation in those areas," he said.
These included land parcels in Negros Occidental province, he said.
Lacierda noted that De los Reyes had already implemented measures to hasten
the acquisition of private agricultural lands.
"Certainly, we would like to hear from them their concerns. Although we do
now and have already answered their concerns," he said.



Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi

© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved





PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet

This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.

To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/

(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/