Land patents awarded to 78 former tenants of gov't property
Seventy-eight former land tenants in Iloilo recently received certificates of land patents from the government. The awarding of land patents is under the poverty alleviation initiative of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and spearheaded by their respective Community Environment and Natural Resources offices.
Of the 78 recipients, 45 recipients were from the town of Sara, 25 from Barotac Viejo and Barotac Nuevo with eight recipients. The land patents were individually awarded by Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza in his recent visit to Iloilo City.
The awarding of the land patents was made during the launching of the Regional People's Hour of the DENR initiated by Sec. Atienza. The People's Hour is the environment department's effective mechanism in resolving pending issues on environment and natural resources.
The public were given the chance to ask directly to the secretary their environmental concerns. It is a strategy to bring the government closer to the people as envisioned by the President. The awarding of these free land patents is the result of the President's poverty alleviation thrust, where she desired that the plight of the Filipino poor will somehow be minimized and their sources of income be elevated and sustained.
Atienza said the awarding of land patents to the former tenants and squatters in government properties is a fulfillment of every Filipino's dream to own a piece of land and build their dreams.
The dream in owning a piece of land which they could call their own is a "sacred aspiration." Thus, Atienza urged the President to fastrack the processing of land patents in the different parts of the country.
The environment secretary added his office is working for the speedy resolution of land cases in the country in order to unlock the potential of land as dynamo of national development.