PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. has ordered authorities to fast-track the distribution of land titles to beneficiaries of agrarian reform, according to Malacañang.
During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Mr. Marcos tasked the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to “step up efforts to distribute the certificates of land ownership awards (CLOAs) to beneficiaries,” the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement later in the day.
“The chief executive further vowed to provide the much-needed support to help agrarian reform beneficiaries improve their living conditions,” it added.
The department targets to complete the “subdivision” of around 34,500 collective CLOAs covering 345,089 hectares of land and issue 134,000 individual titles to farmer-beneficiaries, the Palace said.
DAR, for its part, called on the Senate to prioritize the passage of a bill that will condone unpaid loan amortizations and interests of agrarian reform beneficiaries. The House version was approved on final reading in December.
The measure also seeks to exempt the payment of real estate tax on agricultural lands awarded under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, which was signed into law by the late President Corazon C. Aquino in 1988. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza