• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A total of 2,797 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Negros Occidental have been awarded by the government with 4,724 certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) and electronic titles (e-titles) as part of the commitment of the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to distribute land titles to all beneficiaries.
In July last year, Marcos signed the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, which benefits more than 610,054 Filipino farmers tilling more than 1.7 million hectares of land agrarian reform lands, making them debt-free from P57.65 billion of agrarian arrears.
Marcos, assisted by Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III and Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, led the awarding of CLOAs to ARBs at the Manuel Y. Torres Memorial Coliseum and Cultural Center in Bago City.
He said the distribution of the CLOAs and the e-titles is part of the more than 11,000 titles that will be distributed to all ARBs of Negros Occidental this year.
Of the 4,724 land titles, a total of 2,828 titles were distributed to 1,551 ARBs in the northern part of Negros Occidental and 1,896 titles to 1,246 ARBs in the southern part of the province.
Marcos ordered the DAR to closely coordinate with the other agencies to fasttrack the distribution of the land titles.
The DAR is targeting to distribute 11,772 land titles to 7,848 ARBs in Negros Occidental this year.
The Chief Executive also distributed P69.17 million worth of assistance, including organic fertilizer, farm machineries and equipment, Tulay ng Pangulo Para sa Kaunlarang Pang-Agraryo, and farm-to-market roads, to 1,830 beneficiaries in Negros Occidental.
The President said those who received their land titles before July 24 last year are already debt-free.
“Burado na po ang inyong utang sa Land Bank,” he added.
Before concluding his speech, Marcos extended his gratitude to the ARBs who are the government’s partners in national development and major contributors to food security and foundation of a “Bagong Pilipinas,” assuring them of continued support to boost their agricultural productivity.
Lacson thanked the President for his commitment to distribute all lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) before his term in office ends in 2028.
He admitted that the province has yet to fully achieve its goals for equity, food security, and poverty alleviation.
“As a predominantly agricultural province, developing agriculture and uplifting the lives of our farmers are among our primary concerns and priorities. It is for this reason that we are truly grateful today,” Lacson said.
“With all the farmer-beneficiaries in Negros Occidental, we are happy and it is our utmost honor to be with you this morning in the distribution of land titles and support services,” he added.
Lacson further said that the distribution of thousands of CLOAs, covering thousands of hectares of land to thousands of Negrense ARBs along with support services marks “a significant step toward our goal of improving the socio-economic conditions of our farmers and the overall political development of the Philippines”.
“If our agriculture improves, there will be improvement in the lives of our farmers with their families. We can also assure our food security,” he said. | GB
