By Katrina Gracia Consebido
President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) on Sunday, May 1, to utilize every government-owned land to be distributed to informal settlers in the Philippines.
In his speech during the inspection of Overseas Filipino Workers Hospital in Pampanga, Duterte told government agencies not to “hang on to a property that’s idle.”
“And my orders to the Department of Agrarian Reform, basta lahat ng lupa ng sa gobyerno ‘pag may squatters na, ibigay mo na. Do not give me about — that a certain land or lot will be utilized by this department… At magdaan na lang ang mga ilang administrasyon hindi naman ninyo nagamit, eh ibigay mo na sa tao,” he said.
“You know space is a very serious problem in the Philippines — ‘yang squatter. Nobody but nobody can solve it except the Filipino and ‘yung workers sa government nakatutok talaga,” he added.
The Chief Executive noted that it might take two administrations to fully utilize unused lands, and that the government will not run out of resources to acquire properties if idle lands are given to the people.
“Pagka ganoon sabi ko ibigay mo na at magbili ang gobyerno ng ano bagong lupa tutal hindi naman nawawalaan ng pera ang gobyerno sa totoo lang,” he said. – ag
