The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) recently turned over certificates of land ownership award (CLOA) and electronic titles to a total of 548 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in the Caraga Region during a simple ceremony held at PhilRice Romualdez, Agusan del Norte, on Wednesday, February 1.
The land titles cover a total of 634.3 hectares of agricultural lands located in the provinces of Surigao del Norte, with 301.6279 hectares; Agusan del Norte, 194.8009 hectares; and Dinagat Island, with 137.8692 hectares.
The electronic titles given to other ARBs were provided under the Support to Parcelization of Land Titles (SPLIT) Project, which aims to subdivide lands previously awarded with collective CLOAs and issue individual land titles to the ARBs.
The SPLIT Project would strengthen the property rights of the ARBs to the lands awarded to them under collective ownership.
Atty. Kazel Celeste, DAR Undersecretary for Field Operations Office, said the DAR’s support to the farmers does not end in land distribution, as President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has directed the department, through DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III, to uplift the lives of the farmers by providing them with various support services to help them improve their lives.
“Aside from the provision of various infrastructures, farm machinery and equipment, farm inputs, and training, the department is in continuous coordination and dialogue with the lawmakers to seek ways on how to make your lives better,” she said.
Celeste divulged that the DAR officials are currently crafting a scheme to make the lands given to all the farmers free from amortization.
After the distribution of land titles, the DAR also turned over various machinery and equipment to agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations in the region.
