The Department of Agrarian Reform will begin in October the distribution of public lands within Camp Keithley, a military reservation built in 1946, in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur in October under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
“They have waited long enough. This land is part of their ancestral domain. It should be returned to them. Let us do our best to distribute these lands to them this October,” Secretary John Castriciones said.
He said the distribution of public lands in Marawi is a top priority under Executive Order No. 75 of 2019 of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“The President believes that there were historical injustices inflicted against the Bangsamoro people, jeopardizing their legitimate birthright over their ancestral lands,” he said.
“And it is just right to indemnify them by distributing all government-owned lands to the rightful claimant in order to correct the historical offenses,” he added.
Undersecretary for Field Operations Elmer Distor said DAR has coordinated with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Department of Agriculture for the inventory of idle government-owned lands.
“We are done with identifying the landholdings for distribution, perimeter surveying, procurement activities and validation, documentation and approval of subdivision plans,” Northern Mindanao regional director Zoraida Macadindang said.
“We are halfway in finishing all the necessary requirements before land distribution, but rest assured, we will speed everything up so we can award the lands to the Bangsamoro farmers by October,” Macadindang said.
