Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte (left), President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (Rep. Villafuerte's office, MANILA BULLETIN)

Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte expects the completion of the issuance of land titles to beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) by 2028 or by the end of@ the Marcos administration. 

This, as Villafuerte hailed President Marcos for his heightened efforts in energizing the agricultural sector and lifting Filipino farmers out of poverty. 

The Bicolano noted the synergy between Marcos and Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Conrado Estrella III in iimproving the lives of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and revving the rural sector. 

“Given the accelerated issuance of CLOAs and e-titles to CARP beneficiaries on his watch, we are hopeful that our President and the DAR can finally complete the CARP by the time Mr. Marcos leaves Malacañan Palace in 2028,” said Villafuerte after the President led the recent distribution of land titles to almost 2,000 ARBs in Bicol at the Fuerte Sports Complex here in CamSur’s capital municipality of Pili. 

CLOA stands for Certificate of Land Ownership Award, and Matcos intends to distribute a million of them before he steps down from office. 

“As aptly pointed out by the President, the distribution of CLOAs or e-titles is key to poverty reduction in the countryside because it will open opportunities for ARBs to improve their lives while remaining as farmers—and hopefully encourage their children and their children’s children to continue tilling their lands for the good of Philippine agriculture,” added the formed provincial governor 

The trip to Camarines Sur was the Chief Executive’s third official visit to the province in a span of just 15 months. 

The first time the President visited the province was in March 2023 for the groundbreaking of a 25-storey socialized housing project that marked the first partnership of the Department of Housing Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) with a provincial government, and the opening of the first Kadiwa ng Pangulo outlet in Bicol. 

The second visit was in September last year for the nationwide launch of the President’s Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) caravan.    

Villafuerte pointed out in his speech that the three visits of the President to launch several of his premier projects indicate that CamSur and its people are truly part of his Bagong Pilipinas vision, where no Filipino is left behind in the quest for a prosperous and peaceful Philippines.  

Alongside the accelerated CLOA distribution program, Villafuerte said  that the President’s commitment to uplift the lives of ARBs have been demonstrated in his issuance on his 65th birthday in 2022 of Executive Order (EO) No. 4, which declared a moratorium on the amortization payments of ARBs. 

Also, in July 2023, Republic Act (RA) No.11953, which condoned for good all the unpaid loans plus interests of CARP beneficiaries, was signed into law. 

RA No.11953, or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, has freed an estimated 600,000 farmers from their agrarian reform-related debts, said Villafuerte, a co-author of the law.