Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex, Bangsamoro Government Center, Cotabato City
December 23, 2019
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte reaffirmed his commitment in providing a genuine change and a more comfortable life for Filipino farmers as he led the distribution of Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) to qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB) in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
In his speech, President Duterte highlighted the importance of owning directly or collectively the lands that the local farmers till. According to the President, it is a stepping-stone for small-scale farmers and their families to have a better life and contribute to the economic viability at the same time.
“Kung mayroon ka ngayon, mahalin mo ‘yang lupa mo. Trabahuin mo. Tutulungan kita. Iyan lang. Unang-una, bilhin ko ‘yung — bilhin ko ‘yung — Manila will buy your product. Pangalawa, at a price that is competitive na hindi kayo malugi. Iko-control ko ang price. At pangatlo, sabi ko, it will give you an income. And you can improve. Mga anak ninyo makapag-aral,” he said.
The President also encouraged the promotion of secured and peaceful way of living in the BARMM region, saying that the security stability of the area would eventually lead to the progress and development.
“Kaya important to create a thriving community. Kaya itong BARMM must succeed because it is a deliverance, political, social, lahat na. Dito kaya kung… Kayong mga hindi na miyembro ng BARMM, sumali kayo para isang hatak na lang at makuha natin ang kapayapaan para sa mga kapatid nating Moro,” President Duterte added.
Around 685 CLOA were distributed to small-scale and landless farmers, which grant them the ownership of the lands they have been cultivating for years, and gear them for economic viability and self-reliance in the agriculture industry.
The BARMM’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) disseminated around 93 individual CLOA under its Post Land Distribution Program as a result of subdividing previously issued collective CLOA.
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