President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. awarded e-titles and certificates of land ownership (CLOA) to 1,270 farmers, 19 agriculture graduates, and 50 former rebels during a ceremony in Coron on Thursday, September 19, marking a new chapter in their journey towards land ownership.
Under Project SPLIT, 1,217 agrarian reform beneficiaries received 1,234 e-titles for 2,921.96 hectares of land, while 53 CLOAs were distributed for 4.8277 hectares in Narra town.
In line with its mandate under the Land Tenure Security Program and through the parcelization component of the SPLIT Project, DAR also distributed 1,287 land titles covering 2,926.7827 hectares of agricultural land from the Busuanga Pasture Reserve in Busuanga and Coron.
During the ceremony, President Marcos also turned over farm-to-market roads in the towns of Taytay and Coron, which he said would expedite the transport of agricultural products to markets and boost economic activity.
He further explained that the Agrarian Reform Program (ARP) is not only about the distribution of CLOAs but also includes the amortization of payments and loan condonation.
“Kaya’t ‘yung mga matagal nang nag-aantay at nag-aalala doon sa pagbayad nila ng amortisasyon ay hindi niyo na po kailangan alalahanin ‘yun dahil binura na natin ang utang na ‘yan,” he stated.
He added that the ARP also aims to extend support and encourage the youth to engage in agriculture.
He encouraged the agriculture graduates who received their CLOAs to engage in modern and progressive methods of farming.
“Dahil marami po sa kabataan ay hindi nauunawaan at hindi naiisip ang agrikultura kaya’t kung saan-saan ibang trabaho ang pinapasok. Ngunit kailangan natin ng mga magsasaka. Kaya’t kasama po sa charter ng Agrarian Reform Program na ang lahat ng mga kabataan na dumaan at naging estudyante sa kurso ng agrikultura ay mabibigyan din ng lupa upang ‘yung kanilang natutunan ay mayroon silang paglalagyan, mayroon silang magagamit na lupa para magamit naman nila ang kanilang bagong natutunan tungkol sa agrikultura,” he said.
“At ito po ay tuluyang suporta. Nawa, sa tulong na ito ay mahikayat kayo na isagawa ang mga makabago at maunlad na pamamaraan ng pagsasaka,” he added.
