President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. assured the administration will exhaust all legal remedies to look for permanent solutions to farmers’ agrarian issues, promising to realize the genuine land reforms started by his late father, former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.
“Ayoko ng Band Aid solusyon. Ang hanap ko ay permanenteng lunas,” President Marcos said in his speech during the distribution of land titles to 3,184 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in the Caraga region.
President Marcos was referring to Executive Order 4 he issued on September 13, 2022 that imposed a one-year moratorium on the payment of amortization and interest on agrarian debt, which provides farmers with some financial breathing space from their debts.
He said, however, that the EO is only a temporary solution to the farmers’ problem, prompting him to sign into law the Republic Act 11953, or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, benefiting over 600,000 ARBs nationwide.
“Bagama’t maituturing natin itong tagumpay, hindi pa po tapos ang laban. Layunin kong matapos ang pamamahagi ng lupang saklaw ng Agrarian Reform Program bago matapos ang aking termino,” President Marcos said.
The President said he is also happy to note that the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) was able to distribute over 90,000 land titles last year, which almost doubled the original target of only 50,000 titles.
“At ang 3,184 na titulo na ipapamahagi natin sa araw na ito ay patunay na kanilang patuloy na pagsisikap. Sana nga matuldukan na ang land distribution. Matagal na dapat dumating ito sa kanyang hantungan,” President Marcos said.
While the government aims to complete the distribution of land titles, President Marcos assured the distribution of support and assistance to the farmers will continue.
He also vowed to succeed on the unfinished struggle of his father on the agrarian reform as he shared some projects that his late father had built.
“Mayroon ding mga ipinaglaban ang aking ama na dapat nating tapusin. At ‘yan ang agrarian reform … nakakagulat itong proyektong ito ay sinimulan ng aking ama: agrarian reform. That was his first na pinirmahan na batas, agrarian reform,” he said.
“Agrarian reform remains an unrealized dream because the emancipation of farmers does not end with the receipt of titles declaring ownership of the land they are already tilling. They must be unshackled from debt, freed from high cost of inputs, relieved of constraints that impoverish them,” he added.
President Marcos visited Caraga where he was briefed on the situation of the residents and the effects of the through of the low-pressure area in the region. *PND*
