01/06/2026
TRIBUTE. On Friday, May 29 this year, members of the executive committee (EXECOM) at the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Eastern Visayas, headed by the regional director, Atty. Robert Anthony Yu, paid tribute to three pillars before they bowed out from government service two days later.
Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officers (PARPOs) Alfonso Catorce, Ma. Elsa Veloso and Segundino Pagliawan finally bade “stress,” which every employee, without exception, encounters in the workplace, goodbye. All three of them started as Agrarian Reform Technologists (ART) and retired as PARPOs.
Catorce, 64, spent 37 years serving in government. He joined DAR on April 1, 1989. He rose from the ranks. From ART, he was promoted to Senior Agrarian Reform Program Officer (SARPO) before becoming Municipal Agrarian Reform Officer (MARO). He also served as Chief Agrarian Reform Program Officer (CARPO) for the Beneficiaries Development Coordinating Division (BDCD). In 2022, Catorce was appointed PARPO II by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and had the opportunity to serve the provinces of Samar and Eastern Samar on separate occasions.
Meanwhile, Veloso, 64, started her 43-year career in DAR on May 23, 1983. From ART, she became SARPO for almost 30 years. She was promoted to Supervising Agrarian Reform Program Officer (SuARPO) during the rationalization. Last year, Veloso was appointed Regional Chief Administrative Officer (RCAO). Early this year, she was named PARPO I for the province of Leyte, though in an officer-in-charge capacity.
On the other hand, from ART, Pagliawan was promoted to Agrarian Reform Program Officer I (ARPO I) then to ARPO II, before becoming MARO. In 2022 he was appointed PARPO I by President Marcos, and was designated PARPO II for Samar in 2024, which he held until his retirement. Pagliawan opted to end his 35-year career in government earlier at the age of 60.
According to DAR Assistant Secretary for Finance Management and Administration Office (FMAO), Atty. Quintin Magsico Jr., who graced the said occasion, “Retirement is hard because it is saying goodbye. But the best way to say goodbye is to say thank you.” “Thank you for all of your substantial time. The best time of your life giving it to DAR,” Magsico said as he addressed the three retirees.