DENR to award 5,000 has. of public land in 2010

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) here is set to distribute 5,000 hectares of public land 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, revealed Marife Castillo of the Land Management Division (LMD).

She 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.

Last month, the Regional People’s Hour (RPH) event was capped by the distribution of 70 free patents or land titles to indigent awardees from the seven provinces of Central Luzon.

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.

An additional 646 hectares have likewise been distributed since the early part of this year under the regular titling and land distribution activities of the DENR, reports showed.

As this developed, the DENR has committed to distribute during Pres. 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 square meters 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.