The Department of Budget and Management on Thursday said it has proposed P3.52 billion for the Land Tenure Security Program of the Department of Agrarian Reform in the 2023 national budget.
The proposed LTSP budget is 12.68 percent higher than this year’s P3.12 billion National Expenditure Program allocation, according to DBM.
Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said allocating funds for the LTSP is geared toward uplifting lives and improving the productivity of Filipino farmers.
She added that the DBM seeks to help the farmers earn more through the allocation.
In his budget message, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. committed to distributing lands to Filipino farmers.
He said the government under his leadership “will continue to uphold the rights of farmers and farm workers through the strengthened pursuit” of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law.
The LTSP is a major undertaking of the DAR, together with the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development and Sustainability Program, and Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling.
“The DAR will utilize the amount to acquire and register 27,942 hectares of land, and to distribute 27,102 hectares of private agricultural and government-owned lands in favor of Filipino farmers,” DBM said in a statement.
The proposed funds will cover land acquisition and distribution (P3.03 billion), non-land transfer activities (P11.89 million), and landowners’ compensation by the Land Bank of the Philippines (P256.78 million).
Also covered are post-land distribution (P65.12 million), and other engagements in keeping with the LTSP (P152.95 million).