Protesting farmers affiliated with Task Force Mapalad trooped to the Land Bank of the Philippines office in Bacolod City yesterday to ask for the speedy processing of their claim on the property owned by First Gentleman Mike Arroyo.

TFM spokesperson Edna Sobrecaray said in a press statement that the protest action came after the formal submission to LBP Bacolod Land Valuation Head Lemuel Sembrano of the claim folder of the property in Hacienda Bacan in Brgy.  Guintubhan, Isabela.

She said Sembrano received the folder after Agrarian Reform Assistant Secretary for Operations Dominador Andres ordered Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer Teresita Depeñoso to have the claim folder received by the LBP, the press release said.

The TFM said the Department of Agrarian Reform has been delaying the processing of the Hacienda Bacan claim, and they are still waiting for requirements from the LBP.

It also said that another apparent delay was also noted after DAR and LBP agreed to conduct a joint field investigation on April 29 and came out with a report on April 30 and LBP officials told them it was the only remaining requirement before a valuation can be conducted, the press release added.

But after two weeks, the joint field investigation report was not yet released and the LBP again said its needs a Department of Agriculture certification that the land is suitable for agriculture, it also said.

Sobrecaray said this is clearly part of the “red tape” of DAR and the LBP in delaying the processing and they are using dilatory tactics  to slow down the coverage of the property, the statement added.*

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