TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has covered at least 13,705 hectares of farmlands in Eastern Visayas during the first two years of implementation of the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT).

These titles have been received by 4,372 agrarian reform beneficiaries tilling the lands included in the department’s target for individual titling, DAR 8 (Eastern Visayas) Director Robert Anthony Yu said in a press briefing Wednesday(Nov.29).

“We started this project in mid-2021 and it was delayed due to (the) pandemic. There are also other considerations, such as the absorptive capacity of other agencies. We are now moving forward at a rapid phase since the Land Registration Authority is already equipped and some survey-related issues have been resolved with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources,” Yu told reporters.

Under SPLIT, the DAR is eyeing to validate and distribute 206,221 hectares of farmlands that were earlier awarded to farmers’ groups through collective certificate of land ownership awards (CCLOA).

Parcelization is a process of subdividing and determining the exact meters and bounds of the areas covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

It also involves the awarding of lots to agrarian reform beneficiaries in a CCLOA, determination of common use areas, portions with common service facilities, and establishment of areas capable of being alienated and disposed of by the government.

“This project will strengthen the ownership of our agrarian reform beneficiaries and the way they make their land productive. This will also help local government units settle issues related to real property tax payment,” Yu added.

Having individual land titles will also allow farmers to access bank financial services.
The SPLIT project is funded by the World Bank with a total project cost of P24.62 billion, comprising 78 percent loan proceeds amounting to P19.24 billion and 22 percent Philippine government counterpart amounting to P5.38 billion.

In Eastern Visayas alone, the funding requirement is more than P1 billion.

The DAR project is done in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Land Registration Authority, Registry of Deeds, Land Bank of the Philippines, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, and Department of the Interior and Local Government.(SARWELL Q. MENIANO/PNA)

TACLOBAN CITY-Investigator from Police Station 3 of Tacloban City Police Office (TCPO) formally filed robbery with homicide charges against two cousins and an accomplice friend for robbery and homicide at the City Prosecutor’s Office involving a public school teacher assigned in this city.

Charged were Mark Justine Conde, 23 and his cousin Yasser Ivan Yu, 18, and Darwin Versoza,18. All are residents of Barangay 68 Anibong of this city.

They were tagged as the primary suspects in the killing of Bernabe Basiano, legal age, a senior high teacher at the Antonio Balmes National High School who resided at Saint Francis Village here.

The police said that the two cousins were apprehended by the local police at about 3:45 pm Sunday (Nov.26) in Barangay 68 Anibong after a witness told police of witnessing what they did to their victim.

Their accomplice was also arrested an hour after the two cousins were arrested.
Police Captain Noeme Jordan, information officer of the Tacloban city police, in an interview, said that the victim was said to be missing two days before his cadaver was discovered in a vacant house in Knightsridge Village, Barangay 98, Camansihay last Saturday (Nov. 25).

Capt. Jordan said that robbery/hold-up was the motive of the suspects to their victim but this resulted in a complex crime after the suspects stabbed and slashed the throat of the suspect resulting in his instantaneous death.

She added that after the crime was committed the suspects dumped the cadaver of the victim to the uninhabited house.

The police said the victim lost his gold ring, money, cellular phone, and gold necklace.
(ROBERT DEJON)

TACLOBAN CITY – The head teacher of a remote public school in Catarman town, Northern Samar province is calling for help for the school’s students who were affected when a massive flooding struck the province last week.

Harold Fabile, the head teacher of Hinatad Elementary School, said that all of the school’s 242 students have lost all their school materials due to the flood that reached up to the roofs of the houses and the school buildings.

He also disclosed that all the equipment and supplies of the school, located 15 kms away from the town proper, were also destroyed due to the flooding incident last week.
Two of the school’s classrooms were also destroyed due to the calamity, Fabile added.

And with all the learning and instructional materials damaged, they had initiated a fund drive to help their students, in particular, by accepting essential school supplies like pad papers, notebooks, pencils, ball pens, ruler, crayons, eraser, books, food packs and toys.
Fabile added that they also accept donations like bond papers, printers, TV and electric fans for their classrooms and printing of modules/activity materials.

At present, the school has implemented a modular mode of teaching due to the present condition of their school, the head teacher said.

Meantime, the Department of Education (DepEd) regional information officer Jasmin Calzita said most of the schools affected by the heavy downpour of rain due to shear line and low pressure area had already resumed their face-to-face classes.

“Those that are still under flood are advised to implement blended learning,” Calzita added.
At least 39 schools with a total of 10, 276 students and 352 personnel were affected by the flooding last week that hit Northern Samar, the northern part of Eastern Samar and Samar provinces according to Calzita.

Heavily affected school was in the municipality of Jipapad in Eastern Samar.

In the initial report from the Northern Samar school division, at least 43 classrooms in the province are totally damaged, 122 with major damage, and 422 with minor damage.

The report also stated that 88 temporary learning spaces were also needed in the province for students to temporarily use while waiting for the repair or construction of new classrooms.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)