(SimpleMoneyGoals) PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has ordered the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to hasten the distribution of government lands to beneficiaries in Negros Oriental in the central part of the Philippines in a bid to quell local insurgency, the Palace said on Tuesday.

Presidential Spokesman Herminio “Harry” L. Roque, Jr. made the statement a day after Mr. Duterte presided over a security meeting in the province, which is part of the Central Visayas Region that also includes Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor.

“In Negros province, land deprivation is one of the reasons why there is rebellion,” Mr. Roque, speaking in Filipino and citing the President, told a televised news briefing.

The province has a long history of violence triggered by issues of lands rights, poverty, and injustice, according to international group Human Rights Watch.

In July last year, at least 20 people were killed in the province in a string of shooting incidents. Both government forces and communist rebels were implicated in the killings.