Duterte pushes for land reform

PRESIDENT RODRIGO Duterte has vowed to implement a genuine land reform in the country and would make credit and loan facilities accessible to farmers.

Land reform was one of the demands of the communist rebel group New People’s Army prior to the collapse of peace talks last year with the Duterte government. “With or without the talks between government and the communist, land reform will continue to be implemented. It will not end this way,” Duterte said, who recently distributed land ownership certificates to some 1,680 agrarian reform beneficiaries in Sultan Kudarat province.

Duterte said he is privileged to implement genuine land reform through “strong and decisive governance" and at the same time told the state-run Land Bank of the Philippines to make credit and loans more accessible to farmers.

“I am urging the Land Bank to look for ways and means na makarating kayo doon sa farmers at anuhin mo man ‘yang pera na ‘yan, marami na yan,” he said, describing Land Bank of the Philippines as “almost like a commercial bank” and urged them to release the funds for farmers.

”Yang pera na ‘yan, bitawan na ninyo, give it to the farmers,” he said.

Duterte started formal peace talks with the Na- tional Democratic Front of the Philippines in 2016 but canceled them last year because of continued attacks of the New People’s Army on government forces. He issued a proclamation classifying the communist group as a terrorist organization in December.