Marcos wants ‘vintage’ land cases to be resolved, says DAR chief

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. wants "vintage" land cases to be resolved, Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III said Tuesday.

"Iyan ang marching order ng ating Pangulo – 'Ayusin na ninyo iyan at kung maaari wala nang vintage cases because, iyon nga, justice delayed is justice denied.' Iyan ang sabi ng ating Pangulo," Estrella said at a Palace press briefing.

[That's the marching order of the President — fix all of those and if possible, no more vintage cases because justice delayed is justice denied. That's what the President said.]

Estrella made the remark as he also disclosed that the issue on the Hacienda Tinang has been resolved, with 450 land titles set to be distributed to beneficiaries.

Estrella said he is set to sign the resolution of at least 200 more land cases.

"They are vintage cases and most of them are about 20, 10, 5, 3-year old cases and I am happy to note that out of these 240 – of course iyong numbers niyan nag-increase kasi, may mga dumadating na bago," he said.

"But ang baseline ko iyong nag-takeover kami, by tomorrow because I am set to sign the resolution of other 200 more cases, aabot na kami ng 1,200. By tomorrow, makaka-catchup na kami ng kalahati ‘no, we can address half of them already," he added.

Support to farmers

Meanwhile, Estrella also said the DAR is committed not only in distributing land titles but also in providing support service to farmers as instructed by the President.

"The President is fulfilling his pledge – let me set you an example, isang katutak na farm-to-market roads ang ginagawa natin ngayon para sa ating mga magsasaka at namimigay din tayo sa kanila ng mga farm machineries and equipment at hindi natin basta-basta ibinibigay. Tinatanong natin sa kanila kung ano ang kailangan nila sapagkat sila ang may alam and of course kailangan patunayan din naman ng mga technician natin ‘no. And the President is living up to his promise to provide support services," Estrella said.

[The President is fulfilling his pledge - let me set you and example, there are a number of farm-to-market roads being constructed for our farmers and we also give them machineries and equipment. We ask them what they need because they are the ones who would know, but of course, we need our technicians to verify these.]

Estrella said in the next five years, at least 500,000 hectares still need to be distributed to its intended beneficiaries.

"We will try our best to finish it under the term of the President," Estrella said. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News