President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed his intention to increase twofold the quantity of land titles to be allocated to beneficiaries within this year.

In his speech during the regionwide e-titles distribution in Davao City on Wednesday, Marcos said he wants to double the 90,000 distributed titles last year as he aims to complete the land distribution under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program before his term ends.

"I am hopeful that the number will increase or even double in the year 2024. The distribution of more than two thousand titles here in Davao today is a good start, and just a start, for 2024," Marcos said.

"It is my goal to complete the distribution of all land covered by CARP before the end of my term, so I am pleased that the Department of Agrarian Reform is diligent in issuing land titles," Marcos added.

He mentioned that the Department of Agrarian Reform successfully distributed 90,000 land titles in 2023.

DAR aimed to accomplish the subdivision of approximately 34,500 collective certificates of land ownership awards covering 345,089 hectares of land and issue 134,000 individual titles to agrarian reform beneficiaries last year.

According to Marcos, distributing land titles was just the initial stage in empowering farmers to break free from poverty.

He promised that his administration would work towards improving the beneificaries' livelihoods, guaranteeing a comprehensive government effort to alleviate the challenges faced by farmers, making farming no longer the most arduous occupation in the Philippines.

Nevertheless, the Chief Executive stressed that liberating farmers from hunger and poverty cannot solely be achieved through land title distribution. He stated that the government must also deliver all the necessary assistance and services to support them adequately.

"Additional infrastructure is also necessary, which is why we are also constructing warehouses and roads near the fields for markets. This is to ensure that neither we nor you face difficulty transporting your produce from your fields to the market, thereby keeping prices low and increasing the earnings of our farmers," Marcos said.

Marcos' call to gov't on farmer concerns

He called on the government to address the concerns of farmers in an effort to lift them out of poverty and enhance their livelihoods through modern methods of farming, harvesting, and selling their products.

In a separate statement, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said that the decades-long land dispute between farmers' groups and Roxas and Co. Inc. in Nasugbu, Batangas has reached a resolution, with farmers securing ownership of half the contested land.

DAR issued the clarification, in light of continuing reports, that the farmers groups were the losers in the consolidated order the DAR issued last 29 December 2023, which became final and executory last 30 January 2024, after the the period for the fling of motion for reconsideration or appeal, against the consolidated order expired.

According to DAR Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Napoleon Galit, the compromise agreement was reached by mutual consensus between both parties, which agreed to withdraw all pending appeals and cases filed before the Office of the President and the Supreme Court, and yield to the DAR's jurisdiction and exclusive authority to facilitate a decision for the purpose of expediency in the resolution of the dispute.

This agreement resulted in the consolidation of land titles under the Republic of the Philippines, with the total area of 2,644.45 hectares being divided equally between the farmers and Roxas and Co. Inc.

"The DAR will process the distribution of the parcels of land to the individual members of the farmers groups, taking into account all the necessary operational aspects and proceedings involving identification, technical description approval and issuance of individual CLOA's to the farmers," DAR said.