PARC to impose two-year suspension on land use conversions

The Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC), Chaired by President Rodrigo R. Duterte, shall impose a moratorium on land use conversion of agricultural lands for a period of two (2) years to preserve agricultural lands and ensure food security.

Land use conversion is the act or process of changing the
current physical use of a piece of agricultural land into some
other use, as approved by Department of Agrarian Reform.

The PARC is the highest policy-making and implementing body on the land reform program of the government. It is composed of the President of the Philippines as Chairman, the Secretary of Agrarian Reform as Vice-Chairman and the following members: Secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture; Environment and Natural Resources; Budget and Management; Local Government; Public Works and Highways; Trade and Industry; Finance; Labor and Employment; Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority; President, Land Bank of the Philippines; Administrator, National Irrigation Administration; and three (3) representatives of affected landowners to represent Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao; six (6) representatives of agrarian reform beneficiaries, two (2) each from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, provided that one of them shall be from the cultural communities.

The PARC also has an Executive Committee (EXCOM) composed of DAR Secretary Rafael Mariano as Chairman, and such other members as the President of the Philippines may designate, taking into account Article XIII, Section 5 of the Constitution. Unless otherwise directed by the PARC, the EXCOM may meet and decide on any meeting and all matters in between meetings of the PARC: Provided, however, that its decisions must be reported to the PARC immediately and not later than the next meeting.

Recently, the PARC was convened last September 12, 2016 after more than a decade of inactivity wherein DAR Secretary Rafael Mariano presented the legal structure of the PARC  and the DAR’s five-point policy thrust and directives.

In that meeting, President Duterte also affirmed his support to the policy on free irrigation and the return of the coco levy fund to coconut farmers. The PARC also instructed the Land Bank of the Philippines to provide more services to agrarian reform beneficiaries and the distribution of CARP lands consisting of around 800,000 hectares as land acquisition (LAD) balances including those not yet issued with Notices of Coverage (NOCs).

During the meeting, a two-year suspension on land use conversion was approved wherein President Duterte instructed the DAR to prepare the draft Executive Order for the implementation of the land conversion moratorium. The moratorium shall apply to: all awarded lands under RA 6657 as amended, PD 27 and other agrarian reform laws, all agricultural lands with Notices of Coverage (NOCs), all irrigated and irrigable lands, all prime agricultural lands, retention areas of landowners which are tenanted or occupied by tenant-farmers, etc. The DAR was also tasked to promulgate the rules and regulations for the land use conversion moratorium. /cds

Cagayan Valley tourism is on the rise

Philippine tourism data showed that from January to August 2016,  Korea is the country’s top source of arrivals and has accumulated 976,499 arrivals for 2016, a share of 24.16%. The United States of America occupied the second spot with an aggregate 584,149 visitor arrivals, corresponding to 14.45% of the total.  Visitors from China formed the 11.99% of the inbound traffic, equivalent to 484,567 arrivals. Japan followed with 367,144 arrivals, comprising 9.08% of the total inbound traffic. Australia which provided 161,016 arrivals secured the fifth spot, with 3.98% share of the total. Taiwan (+30.58%) took the sixth place by bringing a total of 157,517 visitors followed by Singapore with 120,241 total arrivals. Showing consistent double-digit growth are United Kingdom (+13.48%) with 117,535 arrivals and Canada (+11.52%) with 114,074 arrivals. Malaysia completed the top 10 with 95,129 visitor count. Hongkong and India claimed the 11th and 12th spot, respectively. Among the top 12 markets, China posted the highest growth of 50.29% followed by Taiwan with 30.58% increase.

One of the many places that has significantly increased in terms of tourism activity is Cagayan province in the Cagayan Valley region (Region 02). Local data point to the beaches of Santa Ana town in northern Cagayan where local and foreign tourists are flocking to enjoy the natural and unexploited beauty of the beaches, the hiking trails, the warm hospitality of the locals and relishing their time on worldclass resorts and hotels at rock-bottom prices.

Cagayan, the valley is located at the northeastern part of mainland Luzon covering an area of about  6,858.79 square kilometers making it the second largest region in the country. Bounded with the Pacific Ocean in the east and the protective mountain ranges of Caraballo on the west and Cordillera Mountain, the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Aurora on the south. Between the ranges is the valley where most of the population live and is criss-crossed by the mighty Cagayan River, the longest and widest in the country and its tributaries, which flow into the Babuyan Channel in the town of Aparri. The Pacific Ocean on the east coast and the Babuyan Channel on the north also skirt the mainland.

The Batanes group of Islands is located at the northernmost tip of the Philippine Archipelago surrounded by Bashi Channel on the north, Pacific Ocean on the east, Balintang Channel on the south and the West Philippine Sea on the west. Claveria, Cagayan has more than 890 kilometers of coastline and rich fishing grounds, particularly with the Babuyan and Balintang Channels on the north and the Palanan and Divilacan Bays on the east including its territorial seas within the 200 kilometer Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The region has four (4) minor volcanoes with several inactive fault lines, which include the Digdig Fault. The climate in the valley falls under Type 3 characterized by not very pronounced seasons- relatively dry from November to June and wet during the rest of the year. Cagayan Valley Region is composed of five provinces – Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino and four cities – Cauayan, Ilagan, Santiago and Tuguegarao (courtesy: Department of Tourism)

From swimming to caving you will never have enough of the printine natural wonders in the Cagayan Valley region. For starters, you may want to just browse a list by Trip Advisor Philippines, just click:

Things to Do in Cagayan Valley Region 

Also, you may want to watch the videos of Byahe Ni Drew: Biyahero Drew Arellano goes to the hottest place in the Philippines (Full episode)

How to get there (Manila to Tuguegarao City)

-via Philippine Airlines

-via Cebu Pacific Air 

-via Florida Bus 

-via Victory Liner (Kamias Terminal) 

Hotels in Tuguegarao City

- Book via TripAdvisor 

- Book via Agoda 

Related information:

ABOUT CAGAYAN VALLEY REGION

Cagayan province 

Tourist Spots in Cagayan Valley

Brief History (Cagayan province)

REGION II (CAGAYAN VALLEY)

Tourist Attractions

Philippine Tourism Industry Performance 

Philippine tourism competitiveness is on the rise

Agrarian Reform: Poverty incidence decreased through the Agrarian Reform Community (ARC) Strategy

A Study was conducted and it showed among others that the the Agrarian Reform Community (ARC) approach to rural development is an effective strategy to fight poverty in the countryside. The study is part of the second round of CARP impact assessment studies commissioned by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). It aimed to assess the impact and gains of the program and to recommend policies, mechanisms or changes to enhance program implementation, particularly for the remaining balances in land acquisition and distribution and in expanding the reach and impact of the Agrarian Reform Community (ARC) strategy. 

The study mainly used official government databases of census and surveys of the National Statistics Office (NSO), the ARC database of the Bureau of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development (BARBD) of DAR, and other administrative data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) and National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB). These databases were merged with the data on the 2006 Masterlist of the Agrarian Reform Communities, matched and analyzed. 

A rapid appraisal of five provinces was also done to examine the impact of government interventions on land markets and economic activities related to land (i.e., credit, capital accumulation, and land productivity). Results of the study show that it is the combination of possessing the land, being located in an ARC, and being in an ARC that increases a farmer household’s income and expenditure per capita and make them less likely to be poor. 

Within an ARC, there is no significant difference between ARBs and non-ARBs, thus demonstrating that returns to land ownership is significantly improved with the provision of support services. 

Furthermore, ARBs do better than non-ARBs in ARCs but both ARBs and non-ARBs in non-ARCs would have the same probability of being non-poor and they do worse than the respondents in ARCs. The benefit-cost analysis of the ARC strategy yielded a positive net present value showing that the benefits reaped from the ARC support services outweigh the cost of financing such services.  

Through the ARC strategy, poverty incidence decreased from 39.8% to 24.2% over the period 1990 and 2000. This reduction is slightly higher than that experienced by those in the non-ARC barangays, i.e., from 39.0% to 24.8% for the same period.

SOURCE: Balisacan, Arsenio, M. et al.  Study on the Impact of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) on Poverty Reduction and Prospects for Long-Term Growth.  Asia-Pacific Policy Center, Diliman, Quezon City. October 2007.  PUBLISHED BY: Economic and Socio-Cultural Research Division

 Policy and Strategic Research Service, DEPARTMENT OF AGRARIAN REFORM 

Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) draw Convergence Services

The Department of Agrarian Reform launched the Agrarian Reform Communities (ARC) in 1993 for its key program for national development. In the past, DAR has concentrated mainly on the distribution of land to the landless farmers, while this is the core of any agrarian reform program, experience has shown that this is not sufficient to raise the quality of life of the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs). And that a strategic development was created which we call the ARCs wherein DAR has focused and realigned its priorities towards the development of viable agrarian reform communities. It is the ARCs where DAR has been intensifying its interventions to increase farm production, improve household income and promote sustainable development. With ARCs, the Department, in partnership with other CARP implementing agencies, local government units (LGUs), non-government organizations (NGOs) and people’s organizations (POs) have a structure for concentrating its resources and development efforts. Development interventions focus on Land Tenure Improvement (LTI) and Program Beneficiaries Development (PBD) to ensure economic, political, environmental and socio-cultural viability of the ARCs.

In 1995, the President of the Philippines issued Administrative Order No. 194 for the adoption of the Social Reform Agenda (SRA) convergence policy and its operationalization, which is considered a milestone in the field of rural development. The Administrative Order identifies Agrarian Reform Communities, among others, as convergence areas where the various agencies and entities shall focus their resources, services and interventions. The key components of ARC development are: (1) land Tenure Improvement (LTI); Social Infrastructure and Local Capability Building (SILCAB); (3) Sustainable Area-based Rural Enterprise Development (SARED); and (4) Basic Social Services Development (BSSD) including Gender and Development.

The ARC concept: An ARC is a barangay at the minimum or a cluster of contiguous barangays where there is a critical mass of farmers and farm workers awaiting the full implementation of agrarian reform. The farmers and the farm workers will anchor the integrated development of the area.

VISION: A nation where there is equitable land ownership with empowered agrarian reform beneficiaries who are effectively managing their economic and social development for a better quality of life.

MISSION: To implement CARP through the distribution of lands and provision of support services in order to attain social equity and promote sustainable development.

The National Scene: Access to land is essential to ensure that rural growth will substantially benefit the rural poor. A highly inequitable distribution of productive assets, such as land, does not only limit the participation of the poor in production growth but also stifles the potential of the country to achieve long-term growth. For more than six decades, land reform has been (and is still) the constant battle cry in the Philippines. Agriculture contributed almost P485 billion worth of the nation’s domestic goods and services in 1997. Three-fifths (3/5) or about 49 million of the population live in the countryside and nearly half (19 million) of the labor force work in the agricultural sector.

At present, there are 6 out of very 10 Filipinos who continue to live below the poverty line due to inequality in income distribution, among others. More than half of the nation’s wealth is controlled by the richest 20% while the bottom half of the population gets only one-fifth. In 1997, 44% of the rural families are living below the poverty line especially the rice, sugarcane, coconut and corn farmers.

The Tasks: To empower the farmer-beneficiaries through the following processes: (1) landownership and control of productive resources through distribution of remaining 1.1 million hectares (nationwide) of land to farming families within five years and maintain the efficiency standard for resolving agrarian cases; (2) promoting and strengthening the social institutions at the community level and at different levels of governance by enhancing the capability of the program partners, intensifying agrarian reform beneficiaries development, consolidating existing ARCs and expanding the rural development interventions in non-ARC areas; and (3) increasing access to productive resources by working closely with the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), other line agencies and local government units (LGUs) towards a convergence of services to meet the needs of ARCs, better management and increase foreign assisted projects, establishment of a joint-venture business arrangement between farmers and agribusiness firms, meaningful partnership with autonomous societal actors in land reform and rural development undertakings.

Strategies: In the implementation of the above-mentioned tasks, the following strategies shall be utilized: (a) completion of land distribution; (b) convergence mwith DA, DENR, strategic line agencies and LGUs focusing on specific crops, commodities and integrated farming systems; (c) continuation of the ARC development by expanding to embrace all ARBs, especially those not included in the existing ARCs and convergence zones; (d) social marketing campaign; (e) organization development of the DAR bureaucracy.

The agrarian reform agenda is grounded on three equally important principles with respect to the rural sector: economic development, social justice, and political democratization. Consistent with these three distinct but related principles and congruent with DAR’s vision and mission, the implementation of the ARC Development Plan has to be enhanced and expanded to contribute to the achievement of food security, poverty reduction, and countryside development. /cds