The sugarcane field where 57 farmer-beneficiaries were installed in Hacienda Velez-Malaga, La Castellana, amid heavy security Thursday, was empty yesterday.

Life at the farm appeared to have returned to normal but there was an uneasy calm as 26 Regional Mobile Group cops and about 26 Army soldiers remained to keep the peace, Senior Supt. Pedro Merced, 6th RMG commander, said.

There are still some issues that remain unresolved and are the subject to ongoing negotiations, Merced said.

Msgr. Victorino Rivas, vicar general of the Diocese of Bacolod, called for prayers for peace in Velez-Malaga.

He also called on both parties to recognize the value of peace, saying it requires some compromises in order to save lives.

At the same time, he said, the Department of Agrarian Reform should have resolved contentious issues before the installation to ensure peace. The army and police can stay at Velez-Malaga forever, but if differences are not resolved, the threat of violence will remain, Rivas said.

The 57 farmer beneficiaries installed Thursday, 53 of whom are members of Task Force Mapalad, were confined to only five hectares adjacent to the 10 hectares that their group has been occupying since 2002 and where their houses are located, for security reasons.

But Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman explained that the installation of the 57 meant they are entitled to .97 hectares each or 55.29 hectares.

Mario Dacquiao, a TFM farmer beneficiary, yesterday said he and his fellow farmers who were installed were resting from Thursday's tense installation, that is why they were not on the property just given to them. He said they were meeting to discuss how they will proceed in running their new property.

He said they want to run the property collectively and not break it up into small parcels of land.

We want to run it jointly as a cooperative, he said, adding that he hopes the DAR will provide them with support to make a go of it.

In a press statement yesterday, TFM said it will work closely with the DAR to immediately address some post-installation problems that would ensure actual physical possession of the land by the farmer-beneficiaries.

TFM president Jose Rodito Angeles said during yesterday's thanksgiving mass in front of the DAR central office in Quezon City, that the installation of farmer-beneficiaries has opened up wider avenues for greater cooperation to make Hacienda Velez-Malaga a showcase for the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

"We fully appreciate the action of DAR to assert its mandate and enforce the rule of law in Hacienda Velez-Malaga," and welcome Pangandaman's latest announcement that he will "proceed with the installation of the 67 remaining farmer-beneficiaries who were not installed last Thursday," Angeles said.

He said there is now a need to conduct a segregation survey to determine which portion of the land would be deducted from the original 144.5 hectares covered by the farmer-beneficiaries' certificate of land ownership award and to set boundaries for the 114 hectares that they will finally receive.

Angeles further said DAR must already draw lot assignments for the installed farmer-beneficiaries so that they can begin to make their land productive, regardless of whether or not there are standing crops on their land.

"DAR must make a formal announcement on the status of standing crops because former landowner Roberto Cuenca had been ordered three times to stop cultivation of the awarded land, but he ignored the orders," he said.

Angeles added that the motion for reconsideration filed by Cuenca 's farm workers against the February 12, 2007 decision of DAR Regon VI on their exclusion-inclusion petition, should not be a bar to the installation of all 122 CLOA holders.

"We don't think the motion for reconsideration would gain merit," Angeles said.

Meanwhile, Gregorio Paclibar, 71, leader of the farmer-beneficiaries, welcomed the announcement of Senior Supt. Reynaldo Rafal, PNP deputy regional director for operations, that a Community Police Assistance Center would be set up inside Hacienda Velez-Malaga to maintain peace and order, the TFM statement said.

Paclibar said during the thanksgiving mass held in front of the DAR central office that the presence of police and military is necessary to prevent Cuenca 's farm workers from doing any violent acts against them.

The COMPAC, to be supervised by the La Castellana police station, will be augmented by forces from the PNP Regional Mobile Group and the 11th Infantry Battalion.*CPG

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