The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) on Tuesday, Feb. 13, reiterated that no dispossession of farmers' land will occur in the settlement of the Nasugbu, Batangas issue, which involves hectares of land that are being repossessed by publicly listed corporation Roxas and Company Inc. (RCI).

DAR Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Napoleon Galit said the resolution of the land dispute among farmer groups and RCI over Haciendas Palico, Banilad, and Caylaway in Nasugbu, Batangas, did not strip farmers of their land.

Galit stated that the Supreme Court found in support of RCI, dismissing the certificates of land ownership award (CLOA) granted to the farmers.

“This led to the protracted litigation between the two parties at the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and the Office of the President before the DAR stepped in as the mediator last year in an honest effort to get the two parties to come to a mutually beneficial settlement. Media reports that 50,000 farmers were affected by the order are false,” he said.

According to Galit, DAR records reveal that laywer Nenita Mahinay represented four legal farmer groups in the case: DAMBA, KAMAHARI, ARBA, and DAMBA-NFSW, with an estimated membership of 1,300 farmers.

He pointed out that all actions taken by the DAR were the result of mutual agreement between both parties, which agreed to withdraw all cases pending before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and the Office of the President, and submit to the DAR's exclusive jurisdiction and authority in the matter.

Based on the DAR order, the whole surface area of the three haciendas to be shared evenly between farmers and owners is 1,322.23 hectares each.

“The members of the farmer groups will now undergo the DAR’s validation process, and all of the necessary operational aspects and proceedings of identification, technical description approval, and issuance of individual CLOAs shall follow,” Galit said.