First agrarian consultancy services opens in W. Visayas
Taking a cue from the difficulty of beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and landowners in processing documents that would ensure them of land tenure, a group composed of retired officials of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) recently established the first agrarian consultancy in Western Visayas.
A stock corporation duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the Agrarian Consultancy and Allied Services, Inc offers expertise on retention application, land exemption, land conversion, reconveyance and titling of un-acquired lands, project/feasibility study, lease agreement, land survey and other related activities.
Othelo Clement, a retired regional director of DAR and the president of the consultancy firm cited that some land owners failed to know that unless they applied for retention, they could not claim the remaining portion of the land that was not covered by the CARP.
A land owner can retain five hectares of his/her property that is being subjected to the agrarian reform program.
"A right to retention is automatic. It is a right but you have to apply for it," he explained.
Relative to the retention is the reconveyance and titling where the landowner has to ensure that portions of the land that are not covered by CARP must be properly titled because the original title is cancelled.
Clement explained that 80 percent of every 100 landowners in the region are not aware that they are supposed to ask for a new land title.
If there is no new title, then the property now belongs to the Republic of the Philippines, he said.
Juan B. Bolaño, a retired assistant regional director for operations of DAR in Western Visayas and presently the vice president of the firm, said the consultancy would initially entertain clients within the region but will soon accept inquiries from other parts of the country.
"We have seen that there are sectors that are finding it hard to follow up some documents relative to their land ownership because of lack of time and money. Instead of spending much for their transportation expenses all they have to do is to leave the work to us," Bolaño said.
The other members of the firm are Gamalier Tungala, Andres Belga, Cesar Valencia, Freddie Savarno and Rosalinda Buñol.
The newly opened firm is located at the back of the St. Clements Church in Lapaz district. (PNA)