56 Camotes lot owners get titles -

CEBU, Philippines —  After decades of uncertainty and constant fear of displacement, 56 lot owners in Camotes Island, Cebu, recently received their official certificates of title. The distribution of the titles was led by Cebu 5th District Representative and House Deputy Speaker Duke Frasco.

“At the heart of our efforts to help secure the issuance of these land titles is to bring justice to families who have long toiled on these lands. The people of Camotes deserve a life of opportunity and stability. That includes upholding their rights of ownership over their lands. Makahatag kini ug dugang nga mga opportunidad alang sa pag-angat sa kinabuhi sa mga taga Camotes ug sa ilang mga pamilya,” said Frasco after the distribution held in San Francisco Town.

Frasco said this ends the long-standing struggle of families in Camotes for legally-recognized ownership over properties that are theirs by right.

The official certificates of title were issued by the Cebu Province Registry of Deeds in coordination with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Community Environment and Natural Resources Office and Frasco’s congressional office.

In 2019, Frasco filed House Bill No. 4785 to declare dry lands in the Camotes islands of Poro, Pacijan, and Ponson as alienable and disposable lands. It was passed on third and final reading by the House of Representatives in 2020.

“Sa dugay na nga panahon, ang mga lumulopyo sa Camotes wala nakatagamtam og igong kalamboan tungod kay dili mabaligya o matitulohan ang ilang mga yuta. Pinaagi niining balaodnon, aduna nay paglaom nga moangat ang ekonomiya sa Camotes,” Frasco previously said when he filed the bill.

“We also have upcoming project, our ?120 million Camotes Airport Terminal construction. Additional budget to our ?265 million airport runway project,” Frasco told The FREEMAN yesterday on the upcoming project in the island.

After the distribution of land titles, Frasco also distributed ?3.3 million in cash assistance to 904 habal-habal, tricycle, and trisikad drivers, and 154 scholarship grants to students from San Francisco.

Meanwhile, Frasco also extended ?7.52 million in cash assistance and rice to 2,315 drivers in Liloan, Cebu, as part of his ongoing efforts to support the habal-habal, tricycle, trisikad, and PUJ drivers of Liloan.

Frasco likewise distributed over ?5.85 million in cash assistance to 1,256 solo parents of Compostela.

Through his personal funds, he also distributed five kilos of rice to each of the 1,256 beneficiaries in Liloan and the 2,315 beneficiaries in Compostela.