DAVAO CITY – The Department of Agrarian Reform-Davao region has revealed its achievements in the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) from January to May this year.
DAR-Davao Director Jazon E. Collado said at the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas here on Tuesday that under the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, they have provided assistance to 19,530 farmers through the Land Tenure Security Program (LTSP), covering 32,932.51 out of the 33,268 target hectares.
Collado said they secured 1,334.90 hectares in Davao City, 6,559.32 in Davao de Oro, 6,614.55 in Davao del Norte, 3,836.37 in Davao del Sur, 2,754.96 in Davao Occidental, and 11,841.41 hectares in Davao Oriental.
He said that 1,104 Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) were given assistance in Davao City, 4,372 in Davao de Oro, 3,698 in Davao del Norte, 2,731 in Davao del Sur, 1,328 in Davao Occidental, and 6,303 in Davao Oriental. Nineteen thousand, nine-hundred thirty-seven ARBs are yet to be aided in the region.
Collado said the land tenure services component, with a total amount of P1,419,600,017.22 to be condoned in the Davao region, seeks to secure the land tenurial status of the farmers and farm workers in the lands they cultivate
“The implementation of the LTSP led by the Land Tenure Improvement Division is DAR’s banner implementation program involving the provision of the land tenure security services to the ARBs under the new law's implementation,” Collado said.
In ongoing foreign-assisted project, most especially the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) project, DAR-Davao has issued 6,672 Collective Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) in the region, covering 81,868 hectares, benefiting 65,573 ARBs.
DAR-Davao said 9,540 ARBs in Davao City benefited from the CLOA, 8,324 ARBs in Davao de Oro, 26,301 ARBs in Davao del Norte, 3,127 ARBs in Davao del Sur, 5,224 ARBs in Davao Occidental, and 13,057 ARBs in Davao Oriental.
“We are targeting 82,476 more ARBs to be given with CLOA, covering 104,084.87 hectares. We are still a bit far, but we will get there. The directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III is to complete the project as soon as possible,” Collado said.
Collado said they have distributed 5,320 electronic titles to 7,991 farmers in the Davao region, covering 6,338.63 hectares. He said that the government provides land to farmers referred to as landless farmers.
He said the DAR aims to provide identified farmers with a maximum of three hectares since the administration has determined that these particular hectares are just fair and humane for the farmers to support their families.
Collado said they adhere to Marcos’ initiative in the 2022 State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA), the establishment of a national network of farm-to-market roads to drive economic development, a one-year moratorium on land amortization to alleviate burdens on farmers for enhanced farm productivity, and pledge to support legislation aiding in the condonation of debts for hundreds of thousands of ARBs.
He assured that they also observe the nine-point agenda initiative of the DAR Secretary – the intervention in land tenure problems, agrarian justice delivery, intervention for support services, intervention for medical expenses, intervention for educational costs, intervention for technical skills, intervention for farm-to-market roads, intervention for diversified income sources, and intervention for irrigation.
In keeping with the directive within the context of Mindanao, Collado said the DAR-Davao has adhered to the nine-point agenda in keeping with its vision by realizing a region of progressive rural communities and economically self-sufficient ARBs with actual tenurial security appropriate and adequate support services whose rights and welfare are protected under the law.