Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 11) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday said the government was on its way to meet this year’s land distribution target under the agrarian reform program.
Marcos was in Passi, Iloilo where the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)-Western Visayas distributed 2,779 land titles for a total of 2,903 hectares of agricultural land.Over 2,000 beneficiaries received land titles.
“Minamadali naming, ginagawa namin ang lahat upang ang land reform program ay matapos sa administrasyon ko, at lahat ng may hawak ng CLOA (certificate of land ownership award), lahat ng may hawak na dapat beneficiary na dapat nakalista as beneficiary ay mabigyan ng titulo at mabigyan ng suporta ng ating Agrarian Reform Department at saka ang Department of Agriculture,” Marcos said at the event.
[Translation: We are doing all we can for the land reform program to be finished within my administration and for everyone with a CLOA to be included as a beneficiary and be given a title as well as support from the Department of Agrarian reform and the Department of Agriculture.]With the distribution of these titles in Western Visayas, in other areas, we are set to exceed our nationwide target for land distribution for the year 2023,” he said.
DAR earlier said it targets the distribution of 134,000 land titles in 2023, but has yet to give a figure on actual land distributed to beneficiaries.
Marcos urged DAR to complete the distribution of lands to their deserving owners while collaborating with other agencies to support beneficiaries to let them have a steady production. The president said land reform is a priority of his administration, similar to when his father, former President Ferdinand E. Marcos was in office. Marcos said among the first laws his father enacted was on agrarian reform.
‘Sa buong buhay niya yun ang lagi niyang sinasabi, na hindi tama na ang ating magsasaka na pinaghihirapan at nagtatrabaho taon-taon na wala naman silang lupa,” he said.
[Translation: His entire life he would always say that it wasn’t right that farmers worked tirelessly every year and not have land to their name.]
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Marcos urged beneficiaries to make good of their land awards.To those who will be receiving their titles today— who have received their titles today, I urge you na pagbutihan ninyo at pagsamantalahan ninyo ng mabuti itong magandang pagkakataon na naibigay namin sa inyo dahil nga sa pagbigay ng titulo,” he said.
