Koronadal City – Continuing the legacies of their father and grandfather, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Conrado M. Estrella III distributed yesterday, May 24, 2024, a total of 4,351 land titles covering 5,918.44 hectares of agricultural land to 4,271 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) held in South Cotabato Gym and Cultural Center in Koronadal City, South Cotabato.
Of these, 1,184 are Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). At the same time, 3,167 are Electronic land titles (e-titles) under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project for ARBs in the provinces of North Cotabato, Sarangani, South Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat.
Marcos recalled how his father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. started land reform in the country by writing with his own penmanship Presidential Decree No. 27 ordering the emancipation of all tenant farmers alongside then-Secretary Conrado F. Estrella, the grandfather of the present DAR Secretary.
“Kaya po kung kayo’y nasisiyahan, kami po ay siguro katumbas na rin ang aming saya dahil po nakumpleto po namin ang sinimulan ng aming mga ninuno at ito ang pinakamahalaga sa kanilang ginagawa,” he said.
Marcos Jr. shared that he witnessed firsthand the struggles and hardships of farmers who have not been blessed with land.
“Naging saksi rin ako sa kawalan ng pagkakapantay-pantay sa sektor kung saan ang mga nagsisikap na makapaghatid ng pagkain sa ating hapag-kainan ay sila pa ang nahihirapang makakuha ng sapat na pagkain para sa kanilang sariling pamilya. Ngayon, sa tulong nitong programa ng DAR, ipagpapatuloy namin ang sinimulan ng aking ama at ang lolo ni Secretary Estrella,” Marcos added.
Estrella recognized the ARBs in Region XII who patiently waited for their land titles, noting that the ARB who had waited the longest for 33 years, was Lennette Frenilla, an heir to an original ARB.
“Alam ko lahat kayo rito ilang taon ninyong hinintay ang inyong titulo. Ngayon po, ang ating Pangulong Bongbong Marcos ang magbibigay sa inyo,” Estrella said.
Eliseo T. Tuscano, 73-year old from Matalam, North Cotabato, waited for 25 years before he finally received his land title generated under the Project SPLIT, a World Bank-funded project of DAR involving the subdivision of about 1.38 million hectares of Collective Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CCLOA) into individual land titles to qualified beneficiaries.
“Lubos po ang aking tuwa at kagalakan dahil sa wakas ay natanggap na namin ang titulo ng aming lupa. Makakaasa po kayo na ang bunga ng inyong pagsisikap na kami ay mahatiran ng mga kaukulang serbisyo ay susuklian namin ng ibayong pagsusumikap,” Tuscano said.
In total, the DAR SOCCSKSARGEN region has already distributed 10,700 land titles to ARBs. Nearly 2,000 land titles are targeted for distribution to over 2,600 ARBs in the region for the year 2024.
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