Some 1,217 agrarian beneficiaries in Coron and Busuanga in Palawan province finally secured the lands they have tilled for years after President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. handed over their titles on Thursday morning, September 19.
The beneficiaries will benefit from the 1,234 e-titles issued and registered under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) project of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). The titles cover 2,921.96 hectares of land.
“Ito ay patunay na ang lupang inyong pinaghihirapan ay sa wakas, naging pag-aari na niyong ‘yang lupang iyan,” President Marcos said before over a thousand people in Coron, Palawan.
DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III joined President Marcos in Coron town to distribute the Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs).
The agrarian reform beneficiaries also include 19 graduates of agriculture-related courses, hoping that youth will engage more in farming. In addition, there are 50 rebel returnees who will benefit from the titles distributed by the SPLIT project.
The distributed lands are part of the Busuanga Pasture Reserve (BPR) situated in Coron and Busuanga.
John Michael Norbe of the Tagbanua indigenous community is optimistic on the future of sustainable farming after receiving the land title awarded to him.
“Ang aming sakahan ay hindi ganon kaproduktibo noon at isa sa mga hamon na aming kinahaharap ay ang mahal na bilihin ng mga produktong pansakahan. Sa ngayon nasa isip ko ay pagyamanin pa para sa hinaharap,” he said.
Norbe, a volunteer teacher in their community, also guarantees the better use of the land.
The land title will also help mothers like Delia Novero to diversify income sources to raise her eight children. She is confident that the vegetables she could harvest would support her earnings as a basket weaver.
“Ang pangarap namin ay makapagtanim ng gulay na pwede mapagkakitaan. Uukapahan namin, mataniman namin na anong makita na pwede itanim,” she said.
Aside from titles, the assistance for farm-to-market roads amounting to P44 million was also awarded with the aim of improving the accessibility of farmers to the markets.
“Mas lalakas ang kakayahan ng pagdala ng inyong produkto sa pamilihan na hindi inaalala ang pagkasira ng inyong mga ani,” President Marcos also said.
The farm-to-market road (FMR) will benefit approximately 1,075 agrarian reform beneficiaries in Palawan’s first congressional district. The covered areas are in San Nicolas to Sitio Caniogan FMR, Sitio Nalbot to Arado FMR, and Busuang to Caruray FMR.
The first and third congressional districts are now under House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s Office of the Caretaker.
National Youth Commission (NYC) Commissioner-at-Large Karl Josef Legazpi, who represented Romualdez, said that they will extend continuous support for the local farmers to attain food security and social justice. (RG/PIA MIMAROPA-Palawan)
