Duterte eyes Nueva Ecija farms for land reform

LAUR, Nueva Ecija, Philippines — President Duterte has ordered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to determine how many hectares of land here can still be covered by land reform so farmers can own the property they are tilling.

Duterte issued the order during a visit here on Wednesday, saying he could address the concerns of local residents, which according to him are being used by communist rebels to fight the government. 

The President also tasked concerned  agencies to address the water problem in Barangay San Juan, which he learned of after talking with the residents on the sidelines of his visit.

In his speech, Duterte urged the New People’s Army (NPA) not to interfere with his administration’s efforts to help the people especially in the grassroots level.

“I will declare land reform in this area next week,” he said, adding he had distributed about 60,000 land titles to beneficiaries in Boracay, Cagayan de Oro and Maguindanao.

Duterte said he would also declare land reform in Sagay, Negros Occidental, where a massacre supposedly due to a land dispute occurred last year.

He also mentioned the problem on insurgency, saying the rebels are using the issue of land grabbing to manipulate local residents. 

He said land should be given to the Filipino people to allow them to prosper.