AFTER decades of uncertainty for generations of families in the Camotes Islands, land ownership is now a reality. Deputy Speaker Congressman Duke Frasco delivered land titles to residents of Camotes at a distribution event held in the Municipality of San Francisco on November 22, 2024. This historic milestone marks the end of a long-standing struggle for families in Camotes to gain legally recognized ownership of their ancestral properties.
Issued by the Cebu Province Registry of Deeds in coordination with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR-CENRO) and the Office of Congressman Duke Frasco, Official Certificates of Title were issued for 76 lot owners, bringing them security and the freedom to use the land without fear of displacement.
“At the heart of our efforts to help secure the issuance of these land titles is to bring justice to families who have long toiled on these lands. The people of Camotes deserve a life of opportunity and stability. That includes upholding their rights of ownership over their lands. Makahatag kini ug dugang nga mga opportunidad alang sa pag-angat sa kinabuhi sa mga taga Camotes ug sa ilang mga pamilya,” said Cong. Duke Frasco after the distribution.
Since he was elected as the Congressman for the 5th District, Cong. Duke Frasco has championed the cause for land ownership in Camotes. In 2019, he filed House Bill No. 4785, which was passed on 3rd and final reading by the House of Representatives in 2020, to declare dry lands in the Camotes islands of Poro, Pacijan, and Ponson as alienable and disposable lands.
“Sa dugay na nga panahon, ang mga lumulopyo sa Camotes wala nakatagamtam og igong kalamboan tungod kay dili mabaligya o matitulohan ang ilang mga yuta. Pinaagi niining balaodnon, aduna nay paglaum nga moangat ang ekonomiya sa Camotes,” Cong. Frasco previously said when he filed the bill.
After the distribution of land titles, Cong. Duke Frasco also distributed Php 3.3 Million in cash assistance to 904 habal-habal, tricycle, and trisikad drivers, and 154 scholarship grants to students from San Francisco, consistent with his priorities of providing opportunities for educational and social welfare advancement in Camotes and the 5th District of Cebu.
