PRESIDENT DUTERTE LEADS THE DISTRIBUTION OF CLOA TO BARMM ARBs
With BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, Al-Haj, DAR National Secretary Atty. John R. Castriciones, and MAFAR Minister Dr Mohammad S. Yacob, President Duterte handed over the land ownership certificates to five of the ARBs from Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi who were mostly former MILF combatants.
“BARMM is a growing entity; it has to be enhanced and it has to be supported. Now is the time for the Moro people to regain their dignity”, the president emphasized in his message.
As reminder to the ARBs, President Duterte said the lands are already theirs so they should make them productive and he enjoined them not to sell the awarded lands.
A total of 815 CLOA have been distributed to 912 ARBs covering more than 2000 hectares of land in the whole of BARMM.
Prior to the distribution of land certificates to the farmers, Minister Yacob led the distribution of certificates of award to farmers that made them legible to receive Common Service Facilities (CSFs) and agrifishery inputs such as rice and corn seeds, fertilizers, farm machineries and implements.
Meanwhile, a Memorandum of Agreement was finally signed by Minister Yacob and Secretary Castriciones on the proposed Regional Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (RARAB) and the joint DAR-MAFAR LRA.
In his message of acceptance and commitment, Minister Yacob expressed his gratitude to the DAR and to the president for their full support. He said the activity was MAFAR’s major step in securing lands for the farmers as almost half of the farming population in BARMM are landless.
The activity was attended by the BARMM cabinet secretaries and ministers, local chief executives, members of the parliament, national officials from DAR, DA, and OPAPP, MAFAR officials, development partners, media personnel, and ARBs from the five provinces of BARMM.
The event was considered a manifestation of the strengthened implementation of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) under the leadership of the BARMM chief minister and the aggressiveness of MAFAR-BARMM in strong partnership with DAR Central Office.