The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has distributed 3,524 certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) in South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Sarangani.
In a statement, DAR said the distributed CLOAs to 3,273 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) cover a total of 6,103 hectares of land.
Agrarian Reform Secretary Condrado Estrella III said that 3,692 hectares of the 6,103 hectares distributed were subdivided into 2,166 electronic land titles (e-titles) and awarded to 1,871 ARBs through the agency's Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project.
The Project SPLIT subdivides previously issued DAR collective certificates of land ownership award (CCLOAs), the agency said.
Estrella said issuing separate titles to each farmer-beneficiary is preferable because it allows them to have clear and defined ownership of the parcels of land they are cultivating.
“It will also give them the freedom to plant whatever they want on the lands awarded to them and not conform with what the majority wants,” he said.
According to Estrella, DAR would subdivide the awarded lands covered by a CCLOA under the SPLIT project, which would mean that each farmer beneficiary would be given an individual land title based on the actual area or a specific portion of land they are tilling.
Also distributed were CLOAs issued under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and government-owned lands under Executive Order No. 75, he added.
“Of the CLOAs under CARP, 1,143 CLOAs covering 2,216 hectares of lands were awarded to 1,220 ARBs, while 215 CLOAs under EO 75 covering 194 hectares of land were given to 182 ARBs,” the DAR noted.
Estrella reported in his speech that House Bill 6336, the proposed law that seeks to condone farmers' existing loans, was approved on its second reading by the House of Representatives.
“ARBs who are yet to receive their awarded land under the CARP will receive it without any obligation to pay any amortization," he explained.