4,800 hectares of idle gov't lands up for distribution in Bangsamoro--DAR
Over 4,800 hectares (has) of idle government-owned lands are up for distribution to farmers in the Bangsamoro region down south, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said Wednesday, Aug. 18.

Agrarian Secretary Brother John Castriciones disclosed that around 4,800.34 hectares of agricultural lands are set to be distributed by the agency in October this year.
“We would distribute idle government-owned lands (GOLs) in Lanao del Sur, which include 1,300 hectares in Marawi City; 1,324.27 hectares in Piagapo; 1,396.05 hectares in Marantao; and 780.02 hectares in Saguiran. As of the moment, these properties are undergoing land survey to process the deed of transfer,” Castriciones said.
According to the secretary, DAR entered into an agreement with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) last April 30, 2021 to distribute the idle lands.
“The basis for distributing the GOLs is Executive Order (EO) No. 75, Series of 2019, which was signed by the President in February of 2019, subjecting all public lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). This Executive Order enabled us to provide more lands to our farmers who are still landless,” he said.
The agrarian chief emphasized that GOLs awarded to the farmers are free because these properties are owned by the government.
In his report during the recent talk to the nation of President Duterte, Castriciones said 2,660 has of GOLs were already distributed to 2,216 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) nationwide.
These include 944 has of land of the Department of National Defense (DND) in Bukidnon; 860 has from the Cagayan State University; 244 has owned by the local government of Zamboanga del Norte; 237 has owned by the Technical Education And Skills Development Authority in Davao de Oro; 174 has in Pampanga State Agricultural University; 155 has owned by Yulo King Ranch in Palawan; and 46 hectares from the Bureau of Soil.