Manila, Feb. 27 -- The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has launched a review into the land conversion of the Bocobo and Morales estates in Tarlac, following reports of possible violations and concerns over compliance with agrarian reform laws.

In a news release Friday, DAR said Secretary Conrado Estrella III ordered a comprehensive review of these estates located in Barangay Cut-Cut I, Capas, Tarlac, after receiving reports of possible land-grabbing incidents involving over 187 hectares of land originally given to farmers in 1996 through Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) and Emancipation Patents (EPs).

"Our duty is clear: protect our farmer-beneficiaries and uphold the law-no matter when these issues happened," Estrella s...