Marcos renews promise to finish land title distribution to ARBs during his term

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Friday renewed his commitment to finish the distribution of land titles to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) under his term. 

''Talagang pipilitin natin. Siyempre ang ambisyon ko talaga matapos sa term ko,'' Marcos said in an ambush interview at the sidelines of the distribution of land titles in Koronadal City. 

(We will really push for it. It's my ambition to finish this under my term.)

''Pero hindi ito titigil hanggang talagang matapos lahat ng beneficiary na qualified, mabibigyan ng titulo. Kahit na wala na ako, titiyakin natin na patuloy pa rin ang programa na pagbigay ng titulo,'' he added. 

(This will not end until all qualified beneficiaries get their land titles. Even if I'm no longer here, I will ensure that the program will still continue.) 

For his part, Department of Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III said the agency would abide by the directive of the President to hasten the distribution of land titles. 

''Kung hindi kaya ng mga mga register of deeds ng Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas na mag-print ng mga titulo, i-outsource natin ito. Basta kailangan bago bumaba ang ating Pangulo, 'yung utos niya... Gusto ko ‘yung isang milyon na titulo maipamahagi lahat ‘yan bago tayo bumaba,'' he said. 

(If the registry of deeds of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas cannot print the land titles, we will outsource this. Before the President steps down from office, I want that one million land titles to be distributed.)

Marcos visited Koronadal City to personally distribute e-titles and certificates of land ownership awards to 4,271 ARBs at the South Cotabato Gymnasium and Cultural Center under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Of the figure, a total of 1,619 ARBs are from South Cotabato; 1,645 from Cotabato; 707 from Sarangani; and 300 from Sultan Kudarat.

The President said the government has already distributed a total of 10,700 land titles to ARBs in Soccsksargen. He said the target was to distribute more than 2,000 land titles to over 2,600 ARBs in the region. 

The President assured the ARBs the government would continue to find solutions for all the challenges in the agricultural sector particularly the effects of the El Niño phenomenon, the looming La Niña, and other effects of climate change. —VAL, GMA Integrated News