639 land titles awarded to farmers in Isabela

HANDOG TITULO Isabela farmers receive land titles during the awarding ceremony for the Handog Titulo program at the Piazza in Gamu, Isabela on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. PHOTO BY VINCE JACOB VISAYA

By Vince Jacob Visaya

GAMU, Isabela -- A total of 639 farmers in Isabela have finally received the titles for the farmlands they have been occupying and tilling for decades.
    As part of the government's Handog Titulo program, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Orly Cariazo handed the titles to the farmers during a ceremony at the Piazza here on Tuesday.
    "The farmers can finally say that they have their own land, which was documented in favor of the occupants under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-implemented Land Administrative Management Program," said Cariazo, who also lauded the support of the Registry of Deeds and the local government units for the support and assistance "that made the program possible."
    Land title recipient Fortunato Villanueva of Mabantad Village in Cauayan City said he was tearful after receiving the land title and "finally owning the land after toiling hard with [the sweat of our brows] with no security of ownership in the past."
    "This is a momentous occasion and I am thankful to the DENR for having this kind of program that is beneficial to us," Villanueva added.
    Title grants benefit recipients because they no longer have to bear the brunt of tedious land transactions and undergo the complex and long process, lawyer Ariel Vallejo of the Registry of Deeds said.
    Alex Pascua, DENR-Land Management Bureau land management division chief, said the Handog Titulo Program has been anchored on the government's policy to give land to the landless, focused on Residential Free Patent under Republic Act 10023.
    Regional Executive Director Gwendolyn Bambalan said that the initiative is part of the government's program, which aims to fuel progress in communities and improve the economic productivity of the people by expediting the processing and issuance of public land patents to qualified beneficiaries. He encouraged the recipients "to make the most of their lands through livelihood developments that will contribute to the province's economic growth."
    Handog Titulo is one of the government's priority programs under the "Pamana sa Mamamayang Pilipino: A Duterte Legacy."