THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the City of San Fernando recently conferred awards to outstanding land officers and investigators whose efforts resulted in the 110 percent accomplishment of the "Handog Titulo" program of the government.
Aurora Aquino of Bulacan and Amalia Fajardo of Tarlac were named as the most outstanding provincial land management officers (LMO), while Jayson Agbisit of Guiguinto and Jude Villa of Capas were 2019's outstanding LMOs in the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) level.
Among the outstanding deputized public land investigators (DPLI) were Rolly Sura (Aurora), Marie Josephine Lauchengco (Bulacan), Rolando Canuto (Pampanga), Ruel Rodriguez (Bataan), Francis Guiller Paragas (Nueva Ecija), Don Christian Puntilas (Tarlac), and Amelia Servidad (Zambales).
Abelardo Manio Jr. of Penro Bulacan was recognized for his outstanding land records management and administration of organizational archives.
Aside from these individual awards, special citations were also given to DENR provincial offices.
While all regions exceeded their targets in 2019 in land title distribution, Penro Bulacan and Cenro Capas were named as the first field offices in the region to accomplish 100 percent of their target under the residential free patent.
DENR offices in Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Pampanga were recognized for accomplishing more than 100 percent of their targets in titling government lands through special patents, while provincial offices in Bataan, Zambales and Aurora were distinguished for exceeding their targets in the management and appraisal of foreshores and issuance of notice of bills and demand letters in their respective jurisdiction.
Provincial offices in Tarlac and Zambales excelled in distributing miscellaneous sales patents, while Bataan and Nueva Ecija topped in the management and appraisal of patrimonial properties.
In his message, Paquito Moreno, executive director of the DENR-City of San Fernando, expressed his salutations to the awardees and lauded their hard work, saying their sacrifices and commitment resulted in upholding the general welfare of the public.
"Bringing social justice in land titling is one of the priority thrusts of our government. Aside from improving the socio-economic conditions of the Filipino and enhancing agricultural productivity in rural areas, our Handog Titulo program will likewise fuel progress in local communities," Moreno said.
Ricky Hernandez, chief of the Licenses, Patents and Deeds Division, reported that the DENR in the City of San Fernando distributed last year a total of 503 agricultural land titles, covering more than 548 hectares, and another 2,754 residential titles covering more than 70 hectares, benefiting an estimated 1,500 farmers and their families.
Since 2011 a total of 31,743 residential land titles covering 629 hectares have already been distributed in Central Luzon, benefiting well over 158,000 residents.
The DENR is set to distribute another 2,100 residential free patents in 2020.