Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon yesterday said he will submit a report to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on the contentious manner in which the Department of Agrarian Reform installed 57 farmer-beneficiaries in Hacienda Velez-Malaga in La Castellana Thursday, and ask for a thorough review of what is happening in Negros.

He will also ask for DAR coordination with local government officials in the installation of farmer-beneficiaries and for a process to be set up to prevent violence, the governor said. Marañon said a review of the way DAR identifies beneficiaries to ensure that tillers of the land are given their just share is needed to prevent violent reactions from contending parties.

Just compensation should also be paid before Certificates of Land Ownership Award are enforced, he said.

"We are not saying that agrarian reform should not be implemented, we are just saying that the proper process, in accordance with the rule of law, should be followed," he said.

DAR Secretary Nasser Pangandaman will be responsible for whatever violence arises from the mess he created at Velez-Malaga, the governor said, since he did not coordinate with local officials.

He noted that even Senior Supt. Rosendo Franco, Negros Occidental provincial commander, was only informed of the Velez-Malaga installation on Thursday morning.

The DAR people install the farmers and leave, and at the end of the day, local officials are left with the problems they create, the governor said.

Marañon said if the owner of Velez-Malaga has legal grounds to file charges against those who forced the installation Thursday, he should do so.

Landowner Roberto Cuenca and workers identified with him are preparing to file charges against Pangandaman and all other DAR officials and law enforcers responsible for the installation.

Their lawyer, Mario Diaz, said all those responsible for the installation are liable for contempt of court because there is a pending case on the matter before the Supreme Court.

He said a La Carlota Regional Trial Court had cancelled the CLOA of the beneficiaries installed that was upheld by the Supreme Court, and TFM as an intervenor questioned the ruling in the Supreme Court. The SC has yet to rule on it, he said.

A case of graft and corruption will also be filed against the DAR officials before the Ombudsman and another before the Commission on Human Rights for the handling of the workers, Diaz said.

Diaz said several other charges will also be filed, including illegal trespassing.

DAR Undersecretary Narciso Nieto said the filing of charges in their prerogative. "We are used to that. It will be a good test case," he said.

Pangandaman, on Thursday, said that as far as the DAR was concerned there were no more legal impediments to the installation.*CPG

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