NEW LANDOWNERS Some 1,582 farmers from the Zamboanga Peninsula receive their land titles from the Department of Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III on Tuesday (Dec. 6, 2022). During the ceremony, Estrella vowed to bring the government closer to the people. (Photo courtesy of DAR)
MANILA – Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Conrado Estrella III vowed to bring the government to farmers as promised by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to provide them with the necessary support.
“The DAR would continuously visit various far-flung communities to see the ARB’s (agrarian reform beneficiaries) situations and conditions and help in the stand of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to fight poverty in the countryside,” Estrella said as he handed the certificate of land ownership award (CLOA) in Zamboanga Peninsula to 1,582 farmers on Tuesday.
The distribution of 1,663 CLOAs comprising a total area of 2,653 hectares of agricultural lands to 1,582 agrarian reform beneficiaries was in fulfillment of the commitment of the Marcos administration to uplift the lives of people in the countryside, particularly the ARBs.
Distributed were about 819 CLOAs covering 1,373 hectares of land to 764 ARBs in Zamboanga Sibugay, 441 CLOAs covering 628 hectares to 441 ARBs in Zamboanga del Sur, and 403 CLOAs, covering an area of 652 hectares benefitting 377 ARBs in Zamboanga del Norte.
Aside from the land titles, DAR also distributed some PHP8.6 million worth of support services in the provinces of Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Sur, and Zamboanga del Norte.
These support services were composed of farm equipment, machinery and facilities that would help them to make their farms become more productive.
Meanwhile, Zamboanga del Sur Governor Victor Yu promised to provide more assistance to the ARBs.
“We will work hand-in-hand with the DAR because the President wants our farmers to become reliable and stable citizens,” he said.
Estrella said that DAR continuously assesses the situation of farmers so that the department can provide much-needed support to help the ARBs improve their living conditions. (PNA)
