Press Briefing

Press Briefing of Ms. Daphne Oseña-Paez with Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Conrado Estrella III

Event PCO Press Briefing with DAR

MS. DAPHNE OSEÑA-PAEZ: Good afternoon, Malacañang Press Corps, and welcome again to our second press briefing today, May 30th. We have with us, Department of Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III to give us an update on the latest about Hacienda Tinang in Concepcion, Tarlac. Good afternoon, Secretary Estrella.

DAR SEC. ESTRELLA III: Good afternoon, Miss Daphne. Good afternoon also to everybody, the distinguished members of the Malacañang Press Corps.

MS. DAPHNE OSEÑA-PAEZ: Go ahead, sir, you may give your briefing.

DAR SEC. ESTRELLA III: Yes. I would like to inform everybody, most especially the public, of a historic accomplishment. The president instructed us from the beginning of his term to address all pending cases, agrarian reform cases because the president definitely subscribes to the adage that justice delayed is justice denied. Ito pong, specifically, ito pong tungkol sa Tinang Estate ‘no, matagal na po ito. Less than three decades ago nag-umpisa po itong kasong ito at ito ay tungkol sa struggle ng land ownership dito sa Hacienda Tinang sa Concepcion, Tarlac.

Marami pong nangyaring mga bangayan dito, both doon po sa barangay at ganundin sa mga korte. And in fact, ito ho, if it would have been only farmer versus landowner ay madali po sanang i-resolve, pero ito ay naging farmer group versus another farmer group. And we are happy to inform everybody that our formula of multiple shuttle diplomacy and constantly holding dialogue with the stakeholders, finally we were able to resolve this case and mayroon tayong nailabas na desisyon tungkol dito sa Hacienda Tinang.

At alam ninyo, ang talagang rason kung bakit itinatag ang Department of Agrarian Reform ng yumaong dating Presidente Ferdinand Marcos Sr., ang ama ng ating Pangulo ngayon at ng dating Secretary Conrado Estrella Sr., ang aking grandfather ay to maintain, to see to it that there will be peace and prosperity in the countryside. And we thanked God for this accomplishment because here we have resolved this problem finally.

In one time, they went to DAR, the stakeholders, and right there and then, dahil po sa utos ng ating mahal na Pangulo na i-resolve itong mga kasong ito the soonest possible time, akin pong binigyan ng instruction ang ating Undersecretary for Legal—nandito po siya ngayon, si Undersecretary Nap Galit. Iyon pong apelyido niya, Galit, pero hindi po nagagalit iyan—and we were able to resolve it finally. The wonderful thing about it is that after we released the decision on this case, wala hong nag-file ng appeal, walang nagprotesta. And as a matter of fact, ito po ay final na po and executory, itong kasong ito, dahil wala pong nag-file ng appeal, wala pong nagprotesta at, as a matter of fact, iyon pong director, already issued or about to issue already a writ of execution.

Siguro in a matter of two weeks magdi-distribute na kami ng land titles dito para wala hong gulo and again, we will be able to forge peace and prosperity to our farmers. Maraming salamat po.

MS. DAPHNE OSEÑA-PAEZ: Thank you, Secretary Estrella. Any question from the press corps? Chona Yu of Radyo Inquirer.

CHONA YU/RADYO INQUIRER: Sir, how many beneficiaries po ang mabibigyan ng land title in a matter of two weeks? And gaano kalaki iyong lupa na ibibigay sa kanila?

DAR SEC. ESTRELLA III: Four hundred fifty (450) titles ang aming iri-release for 450 families ito; kasi nagkaroon ng parang agawan iyan eh, iyong 360 farmers on one side and about 90 farmers on one side. And If I am not mistaken, this is about 600 plus probably, probably about 600 plus hectares or about—ilan ba ito, mga siguro mga 200 hectares ganoon pala; iba pala iyong 600, ibang lugar pala iyon.

ALVIN BALATAZAR/PBS: Secretary, magandang hapon po. Ang sabi ninyo kanina, ang directive ni Pangulong Marcos ay resolbahin lahat ng agrarian reform cases, ilan po ba iyong mga kasong dapat nating tapusin?

DAR SEC. ESTRELLA III: Iyong namana po namin, I could not give you an exact figure about the cases doon sa regional level at saka sa provincial level. Pero doon sa Agrarian Law Implementation doon sa Office of the Secretary, ang namana po namin doon po sa DARAB – doon sa Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board ay about 2,300. And doon naman sa mga ALI cases or Agrarian Law Implementation cases under the Office of the Secretary, mga 2,400.

They are vintage cases and most of them are about 20, 10, 5, 3-year old cases and I am happy to note that out of these 240 – of course iyong numbers na iyan ay nag-i-increase, kasi may mga dumadating na bago, but ang baseline ko ay iyong nag-takeover kami. By tomorrow, because I am set to sign the resolution of another 200 more cases, aabot na kami ng 1,200. By tomorrow, makaka-catchup na kami ng kalahati ‘no, we can address half of them already.

And we can be optimistic. We have more reason to be optimistic in the future. Kasi ang problema namin, kaya hindi kami makaarangkada ay kulang kami sa mga abogado and we can only hire lawyers initially na ang suweldo is only P50,000 and it will be difficult for us to hire credible and capable lawyers with only P50,000 a month. So, what we did in the Agrarian Reform is that iyong mga positions that are unfilled ‘no, we embarked on a crash—we abolished these positions and we went into a—we merged some of these positions and then we created other positions with higher salaries.

Like out of these unfilled positions, kami ay pinayagan ng Department of Budget and Management – kami’y nagpapasalamat sa kanila – iyong Scrap and Build Program namin ay we were able to produce 64 positions for Attorney IV with a salary of P82,000. Kaya kung mayroon man kayong mga kamag-anak diyan who are honest and would like to work with the “Department of Away ang Reklamo”, I am inviting you to come to our office because we are now recruiting lawyers for Attorney IV position with the intent of being able to catch up with the backlog that we have inherited.

That’s why there is reason for us to be optimistic – iyan ang marching order ng ating Pangulo – “Ayusin na ninyo iyan at kung maaari ay wala nang vintage cases because, iyon nga, justice delayed is justice denied.” Iyan ang sabi ng ating Pangulo.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Eden Santos, NET 25.

EDEN SANTOS/NET25: Good afternoon po, Secretary. Ito pong land title distribution na ipinag-utos ni Pangulong BBM, papaano po ito makatutulong para doon sa hinahangad nating food security program ng administrasyon?

DAR SEC. ESTRELLA III: Bibigyan kita ng example. Katulad noong mga collective CLOAs na idinistribute noong panahon ng nakaraang administrasyon, nagkaproblema because—well, probably their intention is to accelerate distribution of land titles by distributing collective CLOAs.

What are collective CLOAs? Collective CLOAs are Certificate of Land Ownership Awards bearing numerous owners. Sa isang CLOA, maraming may-ari – okay lang iyon, walang problema. But the problem is that, they failed to identify. Hindi nagkaroon ng parcellation, hindi nakasaad doon sa titulo – halimbawa: Ikaw Pedro, diyan ka sa malapit sa bundok; ikaw naman Juan, diyan ka malapit sa irigasyon; o ikaw naman Julia, diyan ka malapit sa kalsada. There was no parcellation.

So iyan, nahihirapan kami ngayon at—pero, there are great challenges but thank God because these solutions are within reach and we are now doing it. And thanks also to World Bank because they are funding these so that we will be able to at least for this year, distribute about a total of 50,000 e-titles.

EDEN SANTOS/NET25: Sir, definitely po, Sec, you considered it na part of the solution para po doon sa ating food security program.

DAR SEC. ESTRELLA III: Definitely. Yes, definitely, at mabigyan ng lupa ang ating mga kababayan. Now, there are exceptional cases; I do not deny that their intention is to sell their properties. But we keep on assuring them, number one, that the president, just like his father, kasi noong panahon ng kaniyang ama at noong aking lolo eh isang tambak ang support services na naipamigay sa ating mga magsasaka. At inuulit natin ngayon iyan, marami tayong support services na ibinibigay sa kanila so they will stay put and plant and feed the nation – ganoon ang ano niyan.

EDEN SANTOS/NET25: Ayun po. Secretary, iyon din po sana iyong follow-up ko sa inyo ‘no kasi malapit sa amin iyong Hacienda Tinang, Caluluan, Concepcion, Tarlac kasi kami. Shout out sa mga taga-Caluluan [dialect]. Tama po iyon, Secretary, iyon sana iyong ipa-follow-up ko – iyong pagkatapos magbigay ng land title, siyempre iyong support services ano po, papaano po sila magtatanim. Baka nga naman ibenta nila iyong kanilang lupa dahil wala naman silang support na makukuha sa gobyerno para po makapagtanim ng mga crops or anuman iyong kanilang puwedeng itanim doon sa lupa po nila.

DAR SEC. ESTRELLA III: Yes, tama iyon at in fact iyan ang order ng ating mahal na Pangulo. Hindi ba sinabi niya noong State of the Nation Address niya that agrarian reform is not only about distribution, it is also about providing support services to our farmers – and that is what we are doing now. The President is fulfilling his pledge; let me set you an example, isang katutak na farm-to-market roads ang ginagawa natin ngayon para sa ating mga magsasaka at namimigay din tayo sa kanila ng mga farm machineries and equipment at hindi natin basta-basta binibigay, tinatanong natin sa kanila kung ano ang kailangan nila sapagkat sila ang may alam and, of course, kailangan patunayan din naman ng mga technician natin ‘no. And the president is living up to his promise to provide support services.

Isa pa, ang napakaganda is nabigyan natin, pinalapit natin sa ating magsasaka ang …puwede na silang umutang, mas madali nang umutang ngayon sa LandBank. Ang LandBank by the way ito ay naitatag dahil sa pagsuporta sa agrarian. This bank is intended to support the agrarian reform beneficiaries and I would like to thank them, the Land Bank of the Philippines, kasi noon kung ang magsasaka ay mag-a-apply ng utang hindi mas mababa sa labing isang pahina ang application, napakahaba parang El Filibusterismo ‘no; ngayon isang page na lang, parang ‘Marites’ na lang ngayon ang pag-apply. So, marami tayong mga magsasaka na nag-a-apply na kasi mas madali na ngayon at pagkatapos mayroon pa silang mga personnel sa LandBank na lumalapit sa ating mga magsasaka upang tulungan silang na makautang.

Isa lang iyan sa mga kaunting support services ng ating mahal na Pangulo.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Thank you. Allan Francisco, PTV4.

ALLAN FRANCISCO/PTV4: Hi, Sec. Magandang hapon.

DAR SEC. ESTRELLA III: Good afternoon.

ALLAN FRANCISCO/PTV4: Yeah. Sir, libu-libo itong hindi pa naaasikaso o hindi pa napa-finalize na mga kaso, malamang ang sabi nila “sana all.” So, sir, ano po ang advice mo sa kanila saan sila puwedeng lumapit para magaya rin po sila dito sa nabanggit ninyong good news?

DAR SEC. ESTRELLA III: They don’t even have to do that. They don’t even have to follow up because the moment we have filled the Attorney IV positions, sabi ko nga, doon ko sila mismo ipupuwesto itong mga abogado doon sa aking opisina at doon tututukan ko sila para mapabilis. Of course they have to study carefully ‘no, huwag naman iyong basta-basta na lang na iri-resolve nila ‘no na iyong maganda ang pagkakagawa doon sa resolution ng kaso. At 64 lawyers iyan na aming iaa-appoint at iyong 30 lawyers ay nakaistasyon doon sa Central Office, walang gagawin iyon kung hindi pagsipagan nila ang pagri-resolve nitong mga pending cases; lalo na iyong mga matagal na, kailangan na iyon na pakawalan na natin, ma-resolve na sila.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Alvin Baltazar again, PTV4.

ALVIN BALTAZAR/PTV4: Secretary, sorry habulin ko lang po. Secretary, gaano po ba karaming lupa ang target ng Marcos administration na maipamahagi for the next more than five years?

DAR SEC. ESTRELLA III: Kailangan namin na mai-distribute lahat noong 500,000 hectares pa. We will try our best to finish it under the term of the president. At hindi lang iyon, gusto rin namin na mai-distribute lahat, ma-parcelize na namin iyong mga collective CLOAs kasi nagkakaroon ng tensiyon sa ibang lugar dahil nagtuturuan kung ano iyong kanila, nag-aagawan. Mayroong hindi, alam mo naman kapag hindi malinaw ang usapan, nagkakagulo.

Pero, madagdag ko lang, dito sa resolution nitong Tinang case ‘no, I’d like to also thank the following persons ‘no, I’d like to thank former Congressman, my former colleague in Congress and former Secretary of Agrarian Reform – si Ka Paeng Mariano at si Congresswoman Arlene Brosas and also on the other side naman ang aking kaibigan din na si former Congressman now Mayor of Concepcion Noel Villanueva. At nais ko ring pasalamatan ang mga regional and provincial employees natin sa DAR at lalung-lalo na ang aming Undersecretary for Legal. And with all of these people we we’re able to resolve this vintage case. Marami na ang nangyari rito at ngayon ay mabibigyan na natin ng pagkakataon ang ating mga magsasaka na mabuhay ng tahimik at magkaroon ng pag-asa sa kani-kanilang sariling buhay. Iyan po ang utos ng ating Pangulo. Hindi lang po sa Tinang mangyayari ito, mangyayari po ito sa buong bansa natin, sa awa ng Diyos.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Maraming salamat, Secretary Estrella, for this very enlightening press briefing na, job fair pa. So, shout out to the lawyers, mag-apply na sa DAR. Okay.

Maraming salamat, Malacañang Press Corps.

DAR SEC. ESTRELLA III: Yes. And I thank everybody also for this wonderful opportunity. This is my first and thank you for being so gentle on my first.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Thank you very much.

DAR SEC. ESTRELLA III: Yes. Thank you.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Thank you Malacaָñang Press Corps. Good afternoon.

 

###

SOURCE: News and Information Bureau – Transcription Section