AN FERNANDO CITY, Pampanga - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will distribute some 4,000 hectares of public land in Central Luzon this year in support of President Aquino's poverty alleviation and Land for the Landless Program.
Under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), at least 4,000 hectares are to be distributed to indigent beneficiaries under the "Handog Titulo" Program, said Marife Castillo of the DENR's Land Management Division (LMD).
Earlier, 646 hectares had been distributed under the regular titling and land distribution activities of the DENR, Castillo said.
Another 1,000 hectares under the regular land titling program of the DENR shall also be distributed to deserving awardees before the year ends, she added.
The land titles cover a total of 966 hectares of public lands, and brings to 1,602 the total number of free patents already distributed under CARP in Region III for this year.
Castillo said the DENR has committed to distribute during Aquino's first 100 days an additional 4,000 hectares of residential lands, mostly in Aurora and Zambales.
Under R.A. 10023 or the New Free Patent Act on Residential Land , any Filipino citizen who has occupied a residential land for at least 10 years may apply for a free patent, provided that the land applied for is public alienable and disposable not exceeding 200 sq. m. in highly urbanized cities, and 500 sq. m. in other cities.
Qualified applicants may apply for a maximum of 750 sq. m. in first and second class municipalities, and 1,000 sq. m. in all other municipalities.
As this developed, Pampanga Governor Lilia G. Pineda lauded the program of DENR and vowed to support the project.
Earlier, Pineda and former President and now Pampanga 2nd District Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo led her constituents here in planting thousands of bamboo trees for their livelihood.
