MASBATE CITY – Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Conrado M. Estrella III has distributed 1,048 electronic land titles (e-titles) to 1,048 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Masbate province under the agency’s Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project.
"Huwag po ninyo ibebenta ang lupang ibinigay sainyo ng gobyerno. Inutusan ako ng ating Pangulo Ferdinand 'BongBong' Marcos na iparating sa inyo na handa po kaming tumulong kaya huwag kayong bibitaw dahil hindi namin kayo pababayaan, sigurado po iyan. Marami pa po tayong ipapamahaging support services projects sa mga agrarian reform beneficiaries organizations dito sa Masbate at sa buong bansa (Do not sell the land given to you by the government. Our President Ferdinand 'BongBong' Marcos ordered me to convey to you that we are ready to help so do not give up because we will not abandon you, that's for sure. We will distribute more support services projects to the agrarian reform beneficiaries organizations here in Masbate and throughout the country)," Estrella said in his message during the distribution at the Masbate Convention Center on Wednesday afternoon.
He said aside from personally handing over the land titles and carrying out the order of Marcos to fast-track the distribution. Estrella is in Masbate to conduct dialogues with ranch owners for more programs that will benefit farmers.
"Another reason I came here was to meet the ranch owners in Masbate because one of the things we want to do is not only to cultivate but also to raise and breed domestic cattle for meat or milk production. We will push to promote this project to give every farmer increase income for your families," he said.
Estrella acknowledged that farmers play an important role in securing food production.
“President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. himself believes that the farmers are the real hope of our country,” Estrella added.
He said the SPLIT project intends to fast-track the land subdivision or parcelization of Collective Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CCLOAs).
The DAR chief also handed four units of 4WD farm tractors to Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBOs) namely the Bayanihan Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Agricultural System Industrial Diverse Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Libertad Agrarian Reform Movement for Improvement Organization and Buen-Vista Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organization to help maximize their agricultural production.
Meanwhile, aside from land title and machinery, Estrella also said their agency is ready to grant scholarships to farmers or farmers' children as well as health services in times of sickness.
"Sa kasalukuyan ay may inilalaan kaming pondo upang matulungan pa kayo na magkaroon ng karagdagang kita. Nandiyan ang Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) na tutulong sa DAR upang makapag-enroll din ang mga agrarian reform beneficiaries sa Special Training for Employment Program (STEP) scholarship program (We currently have funds allocated to help you generate additional income. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is there to assist the DAR so that the agrarian reform beneficiaries can also enroll in the Special Training for Employment Program (STEP) scholarship program)," he said. (PNA)
