[ Manila Bulletin Online ] June 14, 2008
KALIBO, Aklan — This year’s Independence Day celebration could be the best one for 129 Aklanons.
The beneficiaries would finally be freed from the bondage of poverty as they receive the certificates of land patents (CLPs), this being their "Independence Day Gift."
The gifts, said Merlita Ninang, Land Management Specialist (LMS) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) here, were handed to the farmers in three Aklan towns, namely Altavas, Banga and Numancia, during Independence Day rites in their respective municipalities.
Ninang said 72 land patents were distributed in Altavas, 42 in Banga, and 15 in Numancia. DENR has 230 land patents for distribution, but Ninang said that as of Friday last week, only the three towns committed to hold an Independence Day program, so only residents from these municipalities were able to receive their patents.
The DENR officials were able to attend simultaneously the programs of the three municipalities.
Ninang said there were two groups – the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer (PENRO) Raul Lorilla and his group attended the program in Numancia, while the group of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CENRO) Baltazar Gerardo attended the programs in Banga and Altavas.
Ninang said the distribution of land patents is a nationwide commitment of the DENR as directed by Secretary Lito Atienza in observance of the 110th Independence Day celebration, anchored on the theme "Independence from the Bondage of Poverty Through Tenure Security."
This year’s Independence Day celebration theme, on the other hand, is "Republika Tungo Sa Kalayaan at Kaunlaran.
Meanwhile, in Manila, the Arroyo administration and the private sector, through the Inter-agency Coordinating Committee for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ICCMSME), had worked in tandem to offer an array of Kabuhayan services to interested individuals or groups during the three-day Independence Day celebration, from June 10-12, at the Luneta.
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