Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Conrado Estrella III has distributed 3,524 certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) in a 6,103-hectare land to 3,273 agrarian reform beneficiaries of South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani (SOCCSKSARGEN).
Out of the 6,103 hectares distributed, 3,692 hectares were subdivided into 2,166 electronic land titles (e-titles) and awarded to 1,871 beneficiaries under the agency’s support to parcelization of lands for individual titling (SPLIT) project.
The project subdivides collective certificates of land ownership award (CCLOAs) that were previously issued by the DAR.
“Issuing separate titles for each farmer-beneficiary is better because it enables them to have a clear and defined ownership of the parcels of land they are tilling. 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,” the DAR chief said.
Under the SPLIT project, the agency would subdivide the awarded lands covered by a CCLOA, mean to say each farmer beneficiary would be given an individual land title based on the actual area or a particular portion of land they are tilling.
Also distributed were CLOAs issued under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program and government-owned lands under Executive Order No. 75.
Of the CLOAs under CARP, 1,143 CLOAs covering 2,216 hectares of lands were awarded to 1,220 farmer-beneficiries, while 215 CLOAs under EO 75 covering 194 hectares of land were given to 182 farmers.
Estrella disclosed that House Bill 6336, or the proposed law seeking to condone the existing loan of thefarmers, has been approved on its second reading at the House of Representatives.
“When the law is enacted, ARBs who are yet to receive their awarded land under the CARP will receive it without any obligation to pay any amortization,” he stressed.