432 CAR BENEFICIARIES GET LAND TITLES

July 7, 2023 Headlines

Social Justice….

PBBM signs new agrarian emancipation law, condoning P57-B agrarian reform debts

BAGUIO CITY

The Department of Agrarian Reform – Cordillera ( DAR – CAR) on Friday distributed certificates of land ownership award ( CLOA) to 432 agrarian reform beneficiaries ( ARBs) across the region.
It also marked the historic signing of Republic 11953 otherwise known as the New Agrarian Emancipation Act by President Ferdinand R.Marcos Jr. who led the simultaneous distribution of CLOAs nationwide. DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III, also led other agrarian officials and staff from 15 regions in the momentous event Samuel Solomero Regional Director of DAR-CAR,said for
this year there are 1,129 CLOA titles available for distribution to six provinces Abra, Apayao, Benguet , Ifugao, Kalinga and Mt Province.

Solomero saidx to date, his agency had accomplished a total of 1,362 hectares agrarian reform areas. To be in tuned to the socalled “global balance”, the DAR official pointed some 1,200 hectares across the region still to be declared with 700 hectares considered workable area. Topping the efforts of DAR-CAR with the able support of the men and women of the agency include—fasttrack the distribution of P54’million worth of farm machineries and equipments. Facilitate farm-to- market roads ( FMR) including the P50-M in Ifugao.

Undertake aggressive solar irrigation and rehabilitation of existing irrigation projects with National
Irrigation Administration ( NIACAR) as its implementing agency. Solomero expressed his gratitude to different local government units ( LGUS ) for their support. A total of 31,831 CLOA titles were distributed nationwide covering over 46,000 hectares of land. After the distribution of titles held at NewTown Plaza Hotel here, representatives from different agrarian reform beneficiaries organization thanked the government through President Marcos for awarding them their CLOAs –
a dream fulfilled after decades of hardship and sacrifice.

The day marked by the signing of the New Agrarian Emancipation Act by President Marcos Jr, fulfilling his promise he made during his first State of the Nation address (July 2022). The measure condones the amortization of principal payments, interest, and penalties on the land they are presently tilling. It will benefit 610,054 ARBs whose total payables are P77.55 billion to the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP). The government will also assume the obligation of 10,201 ARBs tilling 11,531.24 hectares of land to pay the remaining balance of the direct compensation due the
concerned landowners under th4e Voluntary Land Transfer (VLT) or the Direct Payment
Scheme (DPS) amounting to more than P206 million.

Secretary Estrella III, who expressed gratitude to departments of finance environment, Land
Registration Authority (LRA), Senate and Congress , stressed that his agency will continue fulfilling the President’s mandate to distribute all available land to farmers and other qualified beneficiaries, clear backlog of agrarian cases, among others. Quest for social justice…the struggle of farmers for emancipation from their bondage to the soil span for centuries, and on September 10, 1971 Congress enacted RA 6389 –code of Agrarian Reform and followed by the issuance of Presidential Decree(P.D.) No. 2 by then strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr. issued, proclaiming the whole country as a land reform area.

On Oct 21, 1972 P.D. No 27 or the Tenants Emancipation Decree, was signed by President Marcos Sr .who himself crafted the law in his own handwriting, seeks to “emancipate the tiller of the soil
from bondage.”

Primo Agatep/ABN