DAVAO CITY — A total of 351 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB) recently received titles to over 788 hectares of land in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
“This day is very important not only for you beneficiary farmers but especially for us because we are happy to be part of making your dream, of having your land, come true,” Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) Minister Mohammad Yacob said in a statement.
“(Your land) can be the beginning of the gradual lift of your standard of living, (your) own land that can be inherited by your children one day,“ he added.
According to the Bangsamoro government, 295 Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) were distributed to 351 Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB) from the provinces of Maguindanao, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi.
A total of 146 of the beneficiaries were from Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao, 34 from Lamitan City in Basilan, and 171 from the municipalities of Bongao, Languyan, and South Ubian in Tawi-Tawi.
The MAFAR has already distributed 507 land titles to 758 beneficiaries across the Bangsamoro region, covering a total of 1,590.29 hectares since 2019.
The ceremony held in Cotabato City on December 28 was led by Bangsamoro Senior Minister Abdulraof Macacua and Yacob. MAFAR Agrarian Reform Services Director Taugan Kikay and Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Undersecretary for Mindanao Affairs and Rural Development Ranibai Dilangalen also attended the ceremony.