Tarlac farmers receive land titles

TARLAC CITY – A total of 113 farmers from the province of Tarlac were among the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) who received their respective certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) as the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is pushing for its land distribution activities and the provision of support services to its clienteles early this year.

The distribution of 153 CLOAs, held at the Bella Plaza in San Sebastian, Tarlac City was led by DAR Secretary John R. Castriciones last January 31 that covered some 135 hectares of agricultural lands.

Among the recipients are farmer beneficiaries from the Municipalities of Anao, Moncada, San Manuel, Victoria, San Jose, Tarlac City, Capas, and Concepcion, all in the province of Tarlac.

The activity was also in time with the holding of the 1st Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBO) Summit in the province.

Sec. Castriciones was joined during the event by Undersecretary for Support Services Rosalina L. Bistoyong, OIC-Regional Director, Atty. Judita Tungol, Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Ileona B. Pangilinan, Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer I Geraldine B. Yumul and Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer I for Hacienda Luisita Marcelino S. Marata.

“The process of distributing lands to the landless farmers is just the first step towards attaining real change in the lives of the beneficiaries,” Secretary Castriciones said.

The DAR chief added that “binding together to build strong, vibrant and self-reliant organizations with the assistance of DAR and introducing more innovative ways of increasing the farmer’s income by empowering every member of the household through various off-farm and non-farm projects will spell out the big difference.”

He also emphasized the thrust that the administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is pushing to liberate the poor farmers in the country from the bondage of tenancy and poverty.

At present, the province of Tarlac has a total of 124 DAR-assisted farmers’ organizations or ARBOs. Secretary Castriciones hopes to institutionalize housing, livelihood and scholarship programs for the farmers’ wives or husbands and their children so that beneficiaries of CARP will no longer pawn their CLOAs to address the basic needs of their family like food, shelter and education. (Albert Sapnu with reports from Ray Anthony Rilveria, PIO Tarlac)

#AgrarianReform #DAR4Farmers #Land4Farmers #ComfortableLifeForAll #PartnerForChange #CARP@30:DARe2Change