DAR posts 91% performance rating, vows faster delivery of services

By Marita Moaje, Philippine News Agency

SERVICE-ORIENTED. Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) receive their certificates of land ownership award in a ceremony in this undated photo. The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) on Tuesday (March 3, 2026) said it has posted a 91 percent overall performance rating across its major programs, vowing to further boost the delivery of services to ARBs. (Photo: PNA)

MANILA – The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has posted a 91 percent overall performance rating across its major programs, including foreign-assisted projects for 2025.

In a news release Tuesday, the agency vowed to further accelerate the delivery of services to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) nationwide, backed by DAR’s regional offices across the country.

DAR Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and Research Lani De Leon said the high performance rating is not a mere number, but reflects the agency’s commitment to its mandate to lead implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), while promoting social justice and industrialization through equitable land distribution, tenurial security, agrarian justice delivery, and essential support services for landless farmers and farmworkers.

“Behind our 91 percent performance is a story of discipline and responsible use of public funds,” De Leon said.

“Most importantly, it means we are working to ensure that government resources translate into concrete benefits for our farmers,” she added.

The performance score coincided with the signing of Regional Performance Commitments by more than 100 DAR officials, formalizing the agency’s 2026 targets and reinforcing accountability mechanisms at the field level.

DAR said the commitments are aligned with the physical and financial targets submitted by the agency to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

The commitment would also ensure that the budget allocations for 2026 would translate into measurable outputs in land distribution, legal assistance, and beneficiary development.

Among DAR’s core programs covered are the Land Tenure Security Program (LTSP), which oversees land acquisition and distribution; the Agrarian Justice Delivery Program (AJDP), which provides legal services and case resolution; and the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development and Sustainability Program (ARBDSP), which delivers livelihood and enterprise support to ARBs.

De Leon said the agency will also continue to carry out the Support to Parcelization of Individual Titles (SPLIT) Project and fast-track the subdivision of collective Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) into individual land titles to strengthen tenure security.

With the renewed commitment of DAR regional officials in place, the agency hopes to improve accountability, shorten processing timelines, reduce backlogs, and ensure that services reach agrarian reform communities more quickly and efficiently.