MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agrarian Reform has recently distributed a total of 256.7 hectares of agricultural lands to 220 agrarian reform beneficiaries in Aklan.
Regional Director Alexis Arsenal said the 231 hectares of lands in barangays Tigum, Bagumbayan, Buruanga and Aranas, were public lands, while 25.7 hectares of landholdings distributed in Barangay Balete, owned by one Pedro Oquendo, was acquired through voluntary offer to sell, an indication that many landowners are starting to appreciate the government’s land reform program.
Arsenal advised farmer-beneficiaries to honor their obligations by paying their regular amortizations as well as real estate tax as a way of reciprocating the government’s good gesture of providing them farmlots they were aspiring for years.
He also urged them to take care of their newly acquired farmlots and make them more productive as ever.
In return, he promised them that the government would do its part by providing them the needed support services.
The provision of support services in the form of basic rural infrastructures, credit assistance and livelihood training, among others, is one of the major components of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, the other being the land tenure improvement. - Dennis Carcamo