Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 21) – Presidential candidate Senator Manny Pacquiao has vowed to provide justice to farmers who are victims of land grabbing, saying he’ll see to it that the properties are returned to them in the first three years of his administration if he gets elected.
Pacquiao on Monday said he will push for a thorough investigation into complaints of those whose farms have been seized and converted into residential subdivisions by wealthy developers. He added he will create a “special agency” that would specifically address these issues.
“Makikita nila sa first three years, kung papalarin tayo, iyong mga lupa na inangkin ng iba, iyong mga lupang walang kakayahan ang may-ari na ipaglaban ang sarili, ibabalik natin sa kanila,” he said in a statement.
[Translation: If I win, they’ll see that in my first three years, we will return these seized lands owned by those who have no means to fight for themselves.]
The senator claimed the properties — which he said several farmers lost due to inability to pay real estate taxes — often end up in the possession of those who have connections with the Land Registration Authority and the Department of Agrarian Reform.
Pacquiao added there is a need to review policies governing the disposition of lands and previous land conversions that negatively impacted the country’s food production capacity.
