Duterte renews call to give unused gov’t lands to poor

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has renewed his call to give unused government-owned lands to the poor, including those displaced by Typhoon Odette.

In a pre-recorded public address aired Tuesday morning, Duterte directed the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to ensure that idle government-owned lands are distributed “within the next few months”.

“Kung mag-rehabilitate kayo ng isang (If you are going to rehabilitate a) community and you would want to look for the space if it’s government land, Ibigay na ninyo lahat. Those idle government land, better give it to the people right away,” he said.

“Lahat ng lupa na puwedeng ibigay sa tao (All the unused lands we can give to the people), whether they were victims of the typhoon or not, ibigay na lang yung kaya ibigay (let’s just give what we can give),” he added.

According to Duterte, most of those affected by the typhoon were “marginalized” and “very poor” and had no other place to go.

“Bilisan na ninyo nang konti (Just hurry up a bit),” he said.

He also lauded former DAR Secretary John Castriciones for his contributions in spearheading the distribution of more Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) to rightful applicants.

“Castriociones made a good, for the time when he was with the Cabinet, he made a significant act of giving so many lands,” he said.

Castriciones resigned from his post in October to run for senator in the May 2022 elections.

He was supposed to run for the Senate during the 2019 midterm elections but decided to stay as DAR chief.

‘Flaws in the law’

Meanwhile, Duterte also reiterated that the law requiring the assessment of reports on disaster areas before a state of calamity is declared should be repealed.

“The law on the proclamation of calamities should not be dependent on the assessment of damage because that exercise should come days after the catastrophic event,” he said.

“The period of assessment comes very much later. ‘Yan ang tingin kong (That is what I think is) the flaw of the law,” he added.

Duterte was possibly referring to Republic Act No. (RA) 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010.

He earlier described waiting for the assessment of reports as a “hindrance” and “legal obstacle” that delayed his declaration of a state of calamity in areas battered by the typhoon and prevented the government from acting immediately.

“It behooves upon this Congress, if they want to, for the next President, may I advise, try to repeal the law so that government, there is already the warning, hindi na kailangan ng (no need for) assessment because the warning just too far away for us to prepare,” he said in a public address aired Monday night.

Recent reports from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) showed that Typhoon Odette has caused over PHP28 million worth of damage in 506,404 houses; more than PHP16 billion worth of damage to 276 infrastructures, and over PHP5 billion worth of damage to agriculture.

Over 300 cities and municipalities in Visayas and Mindanao were placed under a state of calamity.