Abdiel Franz Bernales

The Commission on Audit (CoA) has reprimanded the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for distributing lands to ineligible individuals under a landmark land distribution law due to the lack of a monitoring system, leaving hundreds of redistributed farmlands abandoned on December 6.

Photo Courtesy of Philippine Star.

In a December 1, 2024 report, state auditors said that DAR gave 235 unqualified individuals ownership of farmlands nationwide, with 117 beneficiaries receiving lots spanning over three hectares, contrary to the 1998 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). 

The CARP aims to redistribute land to landless farmers, but the DAR's mismanagement has led to land distribution to ineligible individuals, undermining the law's purpose.

State auditors also pointed out that the 'lack of effective monitoring system' by the DAR's provincial offices, which are responsible for overseeing the performance of each beneficiary, 'has led to the unproductive/untilled lands awarded to the beneficiaries.'

"Some [beneficiaries] were no longer occupying the area or already living or working in other places, while others were already old and could not till, and their heirs have no interest in tilling," the audit report stated.

The report added that DAR's "inaction" or lack of a solution for these issues had "defeated the purpose for which the CARP was implemented. "

CARP was established through RA 6657 in 1988 under then-President Corazon Aquino's administration.

According to the land law, agricultural land set for distribution could also be granted to farmworkers, tillers, and cooperatives.

"A basic qualification of a beneficiary shall be his willingness, aptitude, and ability to cultivate and make the land as productive as possible," Sec 7. of the 26-year-old law stated.

"The DAR shall adopt a system of monitoring the record or performance of each beneficiary so that any beneficiary guilty of negligence or misuse of the land or any support extended to him shall forfeit his right to continue as such beneficiary," it added.

CoA observed that the 235 unfit beneficiaries were not residents of the barangays or municipalities of the distributed lands, and they were not willing to make the farm lots agriculturally productive.

This led to the sale of some of the lands for non-agricultural purposes, which resulted in the construction of houses or buildings.

"The inaction or failure to resolve said issues by the DARPOs defeated the purpose for which the CARP was implemented," CoA stated.

The landmark aimed to redistribute agricultural lands to landless farmers and farm workers, transforming them from tenants to land owners. 

This was meant to address historical inequities in land ownership and promote social justice in the countryside by breaking up large private and public agricultural landholdings.