Duterte: ‘We may not have oil but we have land’
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2019 09:32:45 +0000
President Duterte believes that God has other plans for the Philippines, saying that even if the country lacks oil, the archipelago is gifted with land that can be used for agricultural purposes.
In a speech in Maguindanao recently, Duterte said that land reform beneficiaries should take advantage of the land given to them by the government because world is getting smaller due to the growing population.
“Ngayon po ang mundo ay lumiliit dahil maraming tao na bilyon. Kung anuman ang makuha mo sa gobyerno o binili mo lupa, hawakan mo ‘yan kasi balang araw lahat tayo wala ng makitang lupa na masabi niya that this is my land that God gave it to me at pwede mo nang ipasa ‘yan sa pamilya ninyo in the long run,” he said.
“Ngayon ibinigay ng Pangulong Diyos sa Indonesia, ibinigay sa Malaysia, ibinigay sa Brunei pero wala sa atin…But someday ang ibinigay ng Diyos sa atin lupa,” he added.
According to the President, the growing population and climate change will eventually push the world to look at the countries rich with land. He just hopes that the people would cultivate the land that they have.
“Balang-araw itong mundong ito titingin sa mga bayan na may lupa. Dito sila maghanap ng pagkain nila at lahat na. If we could just cultivate every inch of the mountains it’s rubber or coconut,” Duterte said. “Hintayin mo lang ang panahon na ‘pag nagkulang na ang pagkain because of the climate change, wala nang tutubo doon sa iba, tayo naman ‘yung may lupa at tayo naman ‘yung mag-presyo,” he added.
The President also renewed his promise to distribute all government lands to the people within his term so it can be used for farming. “Ang plano ko ibigay lahat. Sabi ko nga kay Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriciones ibigay mo na lahat ‘yan sa panahon ko. Lahat ng lupa ng gobyerno. Wala namang nakikialam diyan. Pati bukid ibigay mo na itutulo mo para mataniman at maging progresibo,” he said. (Argyll Geducos)
Duterte also expressed hope that more Filipinos will enter the agriculture sector once Mindanao becomes peaceful.
“Gusto ko marami ‘yung may pera na Pilipino gusto nilang pumasok dito, agricultural endeavors. Kung maaari lang Pilipino lang ako, para — para atin lang. Wala namang masama kung magdamot ka ng iyo (What I want is that Filipinos with money to pursue agricultural endeavors. But if possible, I want it to be exclusive to Filipinos. There’s nothing bad in keeping what is yours to yourself),” he said. (Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos)