Everything is set for the distribution of some 4,800 hectares of agricultural lands for Lanao del Sur farmers in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Among the beneficiaries are displaced persons in Marawi City following the siege in 2017.

The distribution will start in October, as announced by Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary John Castriciones.

“We would distribute idle government-owned lands (GOLs) in Lanao del Sur, which include 1,300 hectares in Marawi City, 1,324.27 hectares in Piagapo, 1,396.05 hectares in Marantao, and 780.02 hectares in Saguiran,” Castriciones said in a statement Monday.

All the GOLs are undergoing surveys to process the deed of transfer to beneficiaries.

The basis for distribution is stated in Executive Order (EO) No. 75, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on Feb. 15, 2019, that orders all department, bureaus, agencies, and instrumentalities of the government to identify lands owned by the government devoted to or suitable for agriculture for distribution.

“The EO enabled us to provide more lands to our farmers who are still landless,” Castriciones said.

The Secretary emphasized that GOLs awarded to the farmers are free “because the government owns these properties.”

“This will empower the agricultural sector in the region,” Minister Mohammad Yacob of the BARMM’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform said in another statement. (PNA)