ILOILO CITY — President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Wednesday reiterated his plan to place parts of Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan under land reform.
In a jampacked multi-purpose gymnasium of the municipality of Cabatuan, President Duterte announced that the back portion of Boracay is “already a land reform area.”
He added that he does not favor anyone and that after the cleanup, he will return the land to “legitimate owners”, those with documents.
“Just allow us to clean the place,” he said, citing that the “whole island is forestall agricultural.”
“It was never meant to be a commercial and residential place,” he added.
He said he learned from former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, that there was no proclamation changing the status of lands, not even a few hectares.
He will also leave it to Congress to enact a law that will tackle the coastal area of the famous island resort.
In his visit in Cabatuan, the President also personally handed Emancipation Patents (EPs) and Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) to representatives of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) from Western Visayas.
The ARBs came from Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental.
EPs and CLOAs are both proof of ownership. The former as mandated under Presidential Decree 27 during the time of former president Ferdinand Marcos and the latter under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) at the time of former president Corazon Aquino.
A total of 3,772 land titles were distributed involving 2,314 ARBs covering an area of 2,694.2492 hectares.
Duterte was assisted by Agrarian Reform Secretary John R. Castriciones in the distribution.
Negros Occidental has the highest number of ARBs, with 900 from Negros Occidental North and 556 from Negros Occidental South, with 1,775 and 938 EPs/CLOAs released, respectively.
Meanwhile, Aklan has 49 ARBs with 56 land titles, Antique has 63 ARBs and 76 land titles, Capiz, 367 ARBs with 440 land titles, Guimaras with 158 ARBs for 186 titles, and Iloilo with 221 ARBs and 301 land titles.
Eduardo Venus, an ARB from the province of Capiz, in his response on behalf of the other recipients, was grateful to the President for the award.
He said farming os his main source of income that allowed him to send his children to school.
Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Sr., for his part, said the visit of President Duterte was a clear proof that he is “committed to the success of the CARP, for our poor agricultural workers.”
“We deeply appreciate Mr. President your visit to Iloilo. We are confident that with your full support this program will continue to move on and give fruition and realization to our dreams of land for the landless and attendance and support to the needs of the poor,” he said. (PNA)
