President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday distributed 4,724 Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) and Electronic Titles (e-titles) to 2,797 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Negros Occidental as part of the administration’s commitment to distribute land titles to all beneficiaries.
“Ang ating pagtitipon dito sa Bago City ay patunay na ang inyong pamahalaan, sa pangunguna ng Department of Agrarian Reform, ay hindi tumitigil sa pagtupad ng aming pangako na mamahagi ng mga lupang sakahan sa ating mga benepisyaryo,” President Marcos said in his speech during the distribution of land titles.
Of the 4,724 land titles distributed by President Marcos in Bago City, a total of 2,828 titles will be distributed to 1,551 ARBs in the northern part of Negros Occidental and 1,896 titles to 1,246 ARBs in the southern part of the province.
President Marcos said the distribution of the CLOAs and the e-titles is part of the more than 11,000 titles that will be distributed to all ARBs of Negros Occidental this year.
Marcos had ordered the DAR to closely coordinate with the other agencies to fasttrack the distribution of the land titles. The DAR targets to distribute 11,772 land titles to 7,848 ARBs in Negros Occidental this year.
The chief executive also distributed PhP69.17 million worth of assistance, which include organic fertilizer, farm machinery and equipment (FMEs), Tulay ng Pangulo Para sa Kaunlarang Pang-Agraryo (TPKP), and Farm-to-Market Roads (FRMs) to 1,830 beneficiaries in Negros Occidental.
“Sa ating pagtataguyod ng Bagong Pilipinas, layunin natin ang sabay-sabay na pag-unlad kung saan walang sinuman ang maiiwan sa pag-asenso,” the President told the ARBs during the land title distribution at the Manuel Y. Torres Memorial Coliseum and Cultural Center.
“Itong programang pang-agrikultura ng pamahalaan ay nagpapakita lamang ng seryosong pagkilos ng administrasyon upang matulungan kayo na magkaroon ng higit na kakayahan, kasanayan at mga pagkakataon sa pag-unlad,” he added.
President Marcos signed in July last year the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, which benefits more than 610,054 Filipino farmers tilling more than 1.7 million hectares of land agrarian reform lands, making them debt-free from PhP57.65 billion of agrarian arrears.
The President said those who received their land titles before July 24 last year are already debt-free.
“Sa mga tumanggap ng mga e-titles na galing sa collective CLOAs, at sa mga tumanggap ng CLOA sa mga lupang nakarehistro bago mag-abente kuwatro ng Hulyo noong nakaraang taon, malugod kong ipinaalam na wala na po kayong babayaran na amortization,” President Marcos said.
“Burado na po ang inyong utang sa Land Bank,” he added.
Before concluding his speech, President Marcos extended his gratitude to the ARBs who are the government’s partners in national development and major contributors to food security and foundation of a “Bagong Pilipinas,” assuring them of continued support to boost their agricultural productivity.
“Sa ating mga agrarian reform beneficiaries, maituturing po kayong mga buhay na bayani ng ating panahon. Kayo ang sandigan namin upang masiguro na sapat ang pagkain sa hapag ng bawat pamilyang Pilipino. Sa ating pagkakaisa, tiyak akong mapapayabong natin hindi lamang ang agrikultura dito sa inyong lugar, kung hindi pati na sa buong ekonomiya ng Pilipinas,” President Marcos said.
“Makaasa kayo na kabalikat ninyo ako at ang buong pamahalaan sa lahat ng inyong pagsisikap. Nawa’y samahan ninyo ako sa pagsasakatuparan ng isang Bagong Pilipinas – isang bansang walang nagugutom at ang lahat ay kumikilos para sa kapakanan ng lahat,” he added. PND
