1993

DAR MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 04-93

TO                :     All DAR Regional Directors,
                           Provincial Agrarian Reform Officers,
                           Municipal Agrarian Reform Officers
                           and Other Officials Concerned

SUBJECT    :     Land Acquisition Under Phase III-A

Please be informed that Section 7 of Republic Act No. 6657 proved that Phase III-A of the schedule of priorities, agricultural lands with areas above 24 hectares up to 50 hectares shall be compulsory acquired. The pertinent portion of Section 7 is quoted hereunder.   HTcDEa

". . . All other private agricultural lands commencing with large landholdings and proceeding to medium and small landholdings under the following schedule:

a)         Landholdings above twenty-four (24) hectares up to Fifty (50) hectares, to begin on the fourth (4th), year from the effectivity of this Act and to be completed within three (3) years; and

b)         Landholdings from the retention limit up to twenty-four (24) hectares, to begin on the sixth (6th) year from the effectivity of this Act and to be completed within four years; to implement principally the right of farmers and regular farmworkers who are landless, to own directly or collectively the lands they till. . . ."

Starting June 1992 landholdings with areas above 24 hectares up to 50 hectares shall already be acquired under the program. The opinion that only 16 hectares out of these 40 hectares could be covered, pursuant to Section 7 is not supported by law.

Likewise, landholdings under Phase II of the above-cited section which DAR failed to acquire shall now be covered by compulsory acquisition.   CTIDcA

Please be guided accordingly.

Diliman, Quezon City, _______, 1993.

(SGD.) ERNESTO D. GARILAO

Secretary