SIXTY-TWO poor families in Manila received land certificates last Friday as beneficiaries of the city government’s Land for the Landless Program (LLP).
Mayor Joseph E. Estrada distributed the certificates of lot award to the 41 beneficiaries of the recently acquired Adela Tuazon Estate situated in the city’s Fifth District in San Andres Bukid, Manila.
Other 21 awardees were from city-owned properties.
“As the name implies, Land for the Landless Program is geared toward affording our less-privileged Manileños, who do not own a piece of land, the ability of owning a piece of land which, now, they can call their own,” the local chief executive said during the awarding rites held at the Bulwagang Villegas of the city hall.
He noted that the LLP is designed to benefit the landless city residents under Republic Act 409, or the Revised Charter of the City of Manila of 1949, as amended.
The mayor called the recipients “lucky” since they are no longer landless, but land owners. He said: “This day is of great significance to all of your lives…I feel in your hearts the great sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with owning your own land.”
According to Estrada, LLP targets all families who cannot access land or housing in the real-estate market or in state-subsidized housing units because of their low income level.
“As long as I am your mayor, I will pursue this program of giving land to the landless…. I firmly believe that there must be equity in the distribution and services to you, the citizens [of] our beloved city of Manila,” Estrada said.