The province of Zamboanga Sibugay has earned a dubious distinction: it tops the list for the most problematic land distribution under the governmentโs decades-old agrarian reform program.
State auditors have flagged the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for awarding agricultural land to 235 unqualified recipients, including retired police officers and Presidential Security Group personnel.
These land grants, part of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), were meant to empower landless farmers, but instead, they have raised questions about the integrity and oversight of the program.
CARP Principles Violated
According to the 2023 audit report from the Commission on Audit (COA), released on December 1, the department did not properly vet the recipients, violating the very principles of CARP, which was established in 1988 to redistribute land to landless farmers and farmworkers.
As part of the program, beneficiaries were to be actual farmers or farm workers, willing and able to till the land.
However, the audit found that 18 provincial DAR offices failed to meet these requirements, and 235 individuals received land despite not meeting the criteria. These included minors, non-residents, and people with no farming experience, some of whom had no intention or ability to cultivate the land they were given.
Zamboanga Sibugay Stands Out
Zamboanga Sibugay stands out for its problematic land grants.
The province accounted for a staggering 112 cases of irregular land distribution. Some recipients received land that was already sold, converted into school sites, or used for commercial buildings.
In a shocking revelation, six minors in the province were awarded land after their documents were falsified to make it appear they were of legal age.
In addition to Zamboanga Sibugay, other provinces were also flagged for improper land awards.
Ilocos Sur and Pangasinan have 30 beneficiaries who received land were not farmers but retired police officers, government employees, seamen, and overseas Filipino workers. In Davao Oriental and Davao del Sur, some recipients either lacked the willingness to farm or were not even actual tillers of the land.
Leyte has some beneficiaries didn’t even know where their land was, and in Iloilo, beneficiaries found that their land had been taken over for housing or commercial development.
Lack of Effective Monitoring
The audit also pointed to a lack of effective monitoring by DAR’s provincial offices, which allowed lands to remain unproductive or abandoned.
In some cases, beneficiaries had either moved away or were elderly and unable to cultivate the land, with their heirs showing no interest in farming it. This failure to monitor and follow up on land recipients defeated the very purpose of CARP, which was to promote social justice and equitable land ownership in the countryside.
Despite the auditโs findings, DAR has attempted to explain some of these discrepancies. The Iloilo provincial office acknowledged “internal lapses” in monitoring their beneficiaries, while the Aklan and Eastern Samar offices promised to review their compliance with CARPโs requirements.
In Davao del Norte, the office explained that land cultivation doesnโt always mean personally tilling the land but could involve managing it with the help of family members.
Challenges and Complexities
The flaws in the land distribution process highlight the challenges and complexities of implementing a landmark program like CARP. While the lawโs intent was noble, the execution has left much to be desired, and as the audit shows, the system has been marred by lapses in oversight, eligibility checks, and monitoring.
As the government seeks to correct these issues, the question remains: how many more provinces will be found guilty of similar missteps, and what measures will be taken to ensure that the real beneficiaries of CARPโthe landless farmersโare the ones who truly benefit?
