Government agencies—the Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and National Commission on Indigenous Peoples — have met up to address overlapping issues related to Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) project.
They conducted a consultation meeting on land and forestry to settle overlapping issues in relation to parcelization of collective certificates of land ownership awards (CCLOAs) for the SPLIT project.
According to Agrarian Reform Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Office Luis Meinrado Pañgulayan, based on a joint guideline, DAR and DENR before processing applications for land titles pursuant to their mandates must notify the NCIP of the specific area to be titled.
All lands covered by collective CLOAs within classified timberlands, unclassified public forests, mineral lands, and national parks, shall be parcelized in favor of agrarian reform beneficiaries, he said.
“During the implementation of parcelization and in the issuance of appropriate tenurial instruments, the actual occupants on the lands covered by collective CLOAs shall not be displaced,” he added.
The NCIP is tasked to certify subject land to the projection of survey plans and issuance of the certification of non-overlap, whether the same affects an alienable and disposable or ancestral land involving “conflict areas” as identified by the agencies concerned pending/overlapping, jurisdictional/operational issues or conflicting claims which are contentious or potentially contentious. Meanwhile, housing czar Eduardo del Rosario announced Sunday the government was set to award permanent shelters for internally displaced persons in the war-torn Marawi City in Lanao del Sur.
Del Rosario, Task Force Bangon Marawi chairperson and Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development chief, said about 400 housing units would be awarded in May to IDPs.
The awarding of the permanent shelters, undertaken by the National House Authority, Social Housing Finance Corp. and United Nations Habitat, is scheduled in conjunction with the Marawi Week of Peace celebration in May.
“We will be awarding almost 400 permanent housing units under the NHA and SHFC supported by the UN-Habitat,” Del Rosario said.
He said he was optimistic on Marawi’s economic activities as major infrastructure projects are nearing completion and more IDPs are expected to return to the most affected area over the coming months.
Several ribbon-cutting activities and turnover of projects would be held during the Marawi Week of Peace, such as the Sarimanok Stadium, Convention Center, Grand Padian Market, Promenade, Peace
Park, Marawi Museum and School of Living Traditions, he added.
“These facilities will make Marawi one of the best tourism sites in the whole of Mindanao,” he noted.