"I'm smarter."
President Duterte urged Filipinos to believe in him and the government and not the communists, saying he had already resolved the issue of agrarian reform-- proof that he is smarter than the rebels.
In his pre-recorded public address aired late Monday night, August 16, the President said communist rebels can no longer use the land issue to advance their ideologies.
"Land issue is no longer relevant in the cause of the communists. Nawala na (It's a thing of the past)," he said.
"Inunahan ko na sila, eh. Ako na ang nagbibigay mismo at malaki (I worked faster than them and gave bigger lands myself)," he added.
"Kayong mga Pilipino, mas marunong ang gobyerno, mas marunong ako mag-isip (To you Filipinos, the government is smarter, I am smarter)," he continued.
President Duterte revealed during his public address that he has ordered Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriciones to ensure that land will go to the rightful beneficiaries.
"Sabi ko sa Department of Agrarian Reform (I told the DAR), for those guys who were beneficiaries of the land reform and who were declared to be legitimate to own a certain piece of a big land, they must be placed in the possession of the land," he said.
Duterte has ordered that government land be distributed to farmers in the country as a measure against communist insurgency. He, however, said on Monday that military reservations will not be part of the list.
"I'm sorry but I have to be sparing in my actuations there because hindi naman pwede we (we cannot) deprive the military of the land that they would need to effectively exercise, train, and even just to wander there-- about training for a soldier," he said.
Last month, Castriciones said the government has distributed 229,000 hectares of land to farmers. These included new lands and re-documented lands. He added that the DAR was also looking at 220,000 hectares of idle government-owned lands to be distributed as well.
A total of 2.4 million agrarian reform beneficiaries were recorded from 1972 to 2020, according to Castriciones.