CARP ends June 30, but DAR to continue issuing NOCs

IT will be business as usual for the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) come July 1 as it steps up to issue more than 14,000 notices of coverage (NOCs) to private agricultural lands before June 30, 2014, DAR officials said on Saturday.

The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform law, DAR’s reason for being, expires on June 30.

The DAR will impose Section 30 of Republic Act (RA) 9700, or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPer) as to continue the distribution of landholdings covered by the program, the officials said.

Agrarian Reform Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Anthony Parungao said Section 30 permits the DAR to complete the acquisition and distribution of landholdings for which there are pending cases or proceedings.

“Since a Notice of Coverage initiates land-distribution proceedings for lands subject to compulsory acquisition, then all landholdings with NOCs can still be distributed after June 2014,” Parungao said.

He said the Department of Justice, through DOJ Opinions 59 and 60, Series of 2013, concurs with this position. Furthermore, Special Provision 2 of the 2014 General Appropriations Act explicitly states that “all lands which have been issued notices of coverage and with pending cases and/or proceedings as of June 30, 2014, shall continue to be processed until issuance of the duly registered certificate of land ownership award to the individual agrarian-reform beneficiaries in accordance with Section 30 of RA 9700 and Item IV (A.1) of DAR Administrative Order 2, Series of 2009, as amended.”

Parungao said the proposed bills pending at the House of Representatives and at the Senate are for the extension of the power of the DAR to issue NOCs and to accept Voluntary Offers to Sell so as to cover more lands, reiterating that even beyond the supposed expiration of the land distribution component of CARPer, landholdings already covered by the program will still be distributed to qualified beneficiaries.

“The DAR wishes to reassure the farmers that there is no need to panic. Even if the NOC extension bill was not passed last Wednesday, DAR can still distribute land. What the DAR cannot do after June 2014 is to issue NOCs and accept Voluntary Offers to Sell unless its power to do so is extended,” Parungao said.

Agrarian Reform Undersecretary for Field Operations Jose Z. Grageda denied that as many as 200,000 hectares will not be issued NOCs and thus will no longer be covered by CARPer after June 30. –Jonathan L. Mayuga, Businessmirror