PBBM fulfills a farmer’s old dream in CamSur

By Ana-Liza S. Macatangay

RAQUEL Cailao, 67, from the town of Ocampo, Camarines Sur, has waited nearly five decades with unwavering faith that the land they till would one day belong to them.

Her long-awaited day arrived when President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. visited Camarines Sur on Friday, June 7. The President distributed 810 Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) to farmers from across the region through the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) under its Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, including one for Cailao.

Cailao, a widow with five children, is one of the heirs of Claudio Cailao, who had been cultivating the 14,042-square meter of land until his death.

“Grabe talaga ang pasasalamat ko kay President Bongbong Marcos. Haluyon ko na ining pinaghalat ta iyo man sana ang maipamamana kong yaman sa mga aki ko. Nakahangos ako nin husay. Gurang na ako kaya talagang pangaturugan ko ini, na nagka totoo na,” Cailao said.

(I am truly grateful to President Bongbong Marcos. I have been waiting for this moment, as I know this is the only wealth I can pass on to my children. I can finally relax now and feel at ease. I am already old, so this has been my dream, and now it finally came true.)

Cailao is one of the 548 beneficiaries of Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) in Camarines Sur. Accompanied by Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella, the President also distributed 22 CLOAs in Albay, 96 in Camarines Norte, 119 in Masbate, and 25 in Sorsogon.

Under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individuals Titling, 1,305 electronic titles with a total area of 2,247.4 hectares were distributed to 1,225 agrarian reform beneficiaries.

In less than two years of the Marcos Jr. administration, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) provided various services to all Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBOs) in the Bicol region.

In addition, PBBM also handed over farm machinery and equipment worth P5.91 million.

This includes a 35hp combine harvester with trailer for the Awayan Libmanan ARBOs, one four-wheel-drive tractor for the Laganac Agrarian Reform Association Inc. and the San Pedro Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association, and one compact rice mill with polisher each for Tampadong Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association, San Pablo Bagadion Agrarian Reform Farmers Association, Inc., and Triangle of Minalabac Agrarian Farmers Ass. Inc.

Furthermore, four ARBOs each received one motorized hauler: Antipolo Multipurpose Cooperative, Serranza ARBO, Progressive ARBO, and United Farmers Irrigators Agriculture Cooperative. The St. James Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association received a palay thresher with a fan blower and winnower, and one walk-behind tractor with a trailer.

A 40hp four-wheel drive tractor was handed to the Burabod Farmers Agrarian Reform Organization. Hanawan Farmers Association received a hand tractor implement, while the Casuray ARBO received a rice thresher.

Salome Maleniza, a 50-year-old farmer with 30 years of experience, expressed her gratitude for being one of the recipients of an irrigation pump..

“Salamat na marhay kay President BBM po. Dakulang tabang po ini samuyang magsasaka, asin sa samuyang organisasyon, Dakulang tabang po ini samuyang mga pamilya, na madagdagan po ang samuyang mga hanap buhay, ng source of income. Para po ini sa cultural minority po, sa grupo kan Indigenous. Talaga pong makatabang po sainda bako sana sa pagmamais, sa paroyan, sa gulayan, ini po tabang na marhay po samuya,” Maleniza said.

(Thank you so much President BBM. This is a great help to us farmers and our organization. It will help our families in increasing our source of livelihood and income. This is for the cultural minority, for the group of Indigenous People. This [machinery] will help, not only in planting corn, rice and vegetables but it is a big help to us.)

Bula Farmers Irrigators’ Multi-Purpose Cooperative president and board chair Rico Aguila also expressed his gratitude for the tractor handed over to their association.

“Igwa po kaming farmer-members na nag tatanom sa 500 hectares Nagpapasalamat kami kay President BBM, thru Rodel Tornilla of the Department of Agriculture, na pina-receive kami kaining 4-wheel drive na tractor,” Aguila added.

(We have 500 farmer members cultivating 500 hectares of land. We are grateful to President BBM, through [DA Regional Director] Rodel Tornilla of the Department of Agriculture, for giving us this 4-wheel-drive tractor).

Farm-to-market roads

A ceremonial turnover of nine completed and ongoing farm-to-market roads, worth P218 million, was handed over to local government unit chief executives in Camarines Sur.

The project included the concreting of 977 meters of road in Barangay Camaging, Cabusao; 1.3 km of road in Barangay Tarum; and 700 meters in Barangay San Pablo, all in Libmanan, Camarines Sur.

Additionally, farm-to-market roads were also constructed in the villages of Veneracion in Pamplona, Sagrada in Minalabac, San Agustin in Bula, Laganac in Balatan, and San Antonio in Buhi, all in Camarines Sur.

Estrella assured the farmers that PBBM and DAR will continue their unwavering commitment to support and empower farmer-beneficiaries through land ownership distribution to uplift the lives of the farmers and their beneficiaries. (LSM-PIA 5/Camarines Sur)

BULA Farmers Irrigators’ Multi-Purpose Cooperative President and Chairman of the Board Rico Aguila said that the 4 wheel-drive tractor will not only benefit the 500 members of their organization but will also help in alleviating the economic burden of the Bicolanos (JRM, PIA 5/Camarines Sur)