Sultan Kudarat Sports and Cultural Center, Isulan, Sultan Kudarat
April 2, 2018
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte led the ceremonial distribution of Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) to the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries at the Sultan Kudarat Sports and Cultural Center in the Municipality of Isulan, Sultan Kudarat province.
The activity was pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 2282 dated March 29, 1983 entitled, ‘Reclassifying Certain Portions of the Public Domain as Agricultural Land and Declaring the Same Alienable and Disposable for Agricultural and Resettlement Purposes of the Kilusang Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran Land Resource Management Program of the Kilusang Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran of the Ministry of Human Settlements.’
In the event, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary John Castriciones, Sultan Kudarat Governor Pax Mangudadatu and Sultan Kudarat 1st District Representative Suharto Mangudadatu assisted President Duterte in the CLOA distribution to the four representatives of the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries namely, Datu Diolanen Sinennggayan, Mohamad Dondoy, Rodrigo Balinbin, and Nasrudin Mama.
The beneficiaries consisted of 1,396 Maguindanaons, 227 Manobos, and 57 Ilocanos and Ilonggos. A total of 4,266.2882 hectares of land shall be distributed to the beneficiaries for an average farm size of 2.55 hectares per recipient.
In his keynote address, President Duterte shared his thoughts on the CLOA distribution to the Filipino farmers, saying, “I am humbled and proud to personally hand over to you what you rightfully deserve as hardworking Filipinos. I stand before you to say only one thing: Today is a victorious day for you, our farmers…to our hardworking farmers. You are no longer just tillers. You are now proud owners of your own land.”
“The Philippines is nothing without our farmers who regularly provide our people with sustenance and ensure food security despite difficulties such as disasters, price fluctuations and financial shortages,” he added.
The President also commended the DAR for being the lead implementing agency in the land distribution. “I laud the efforts of the Department of Agrarian Reform for being instrumental in upholding the rights of our farmers to own, control, secure, cultivate and enhance their agricultural lands as well as to improve their quality of life,” he emphasized.
Following his speech at the CLOA distribution, President Duterte also viewed the display of ammunitions and firearms surrendered by the New People’s Army (NPA) and other groups to the Sultan Kudarat local government.
* * *