President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to issue one million certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) before his term ends in 2028.

The Chief Executive gave the order to show his commitment to fast track the distribution of lands to landless farmers in the country.

He said the farmers ? many of them are now senior citizens ? have waited long enough for the lands promised to them by the government many years ago.

Marcos ended the long wait in Mindanao where he gave away CLOAs and land titles to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) from various parts of the region.

Mindanao is where the most number of needy farmers in the country can be found.

In Soccsksargen, thousands of ARBs welcomed Marcos who showed determination to end their sorry plight. The President assured the farmers of a whole-of-government-approach to improve their lives.

“Sa ating mga magsasaka, kami po sa pamahalaan ay katuwang ninyo sa pagpapataas ng inyong kita at pagpapaunlad ng inyong kabuhayan,” President Marcos said.

“Umasa po kayo na patuloy po [kaming kumikilos] upang pangalagaan ang ating mga yamang-lupa at ang ating kalikasan, at matiyak ang kalidad ng pamumuhay ng bawat Pilipino, ngayon at sa mga susunod na henerasyon,” he added.

Marcos visited Koronadal City on Friday to personally distribute e-titles and CLOAs to 4,271 ARBs at the South Cotabato Gymnasium and Cultural Center under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Of the figure, a total of 1,619 ARBs are from South Cotabato; 1,645 from Cotabato; 707 from Sarangani; and 300 from Sultan Kudarat.

The President said the government has already distributed a total of 10,700 land titles to ARBs in Soccsksargen. The target is to distribute more than 2,000 land titles to over 2,600 ARBs in the region, he added.

The President assured ARBs the government will continue to find solutions for all the challenges in the agricultural sector particularly the effects of the El Nino phenomenon, the looming La Nina, and other effects of climate change. Presidential News Desk