PBBM Distributes Land Ownership Titles, Support Services to Negros Occidental ARBs
Bago City | No less than His Excellency Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. distributed a total of 4,724 Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) to 2,797 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Negros Occidental on April 8, 2024.
In addition, a ceremonial turn-over of support services worth over 69 million was also awarded to 19 Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBOs) from the different localities in the province. These include 10 million worth of Farm Machineries and Equipment (FMEs) and Organic Fertilizer, and 59 million worth of Farm to Market Road (FMR) and Tulay ng Pangulo Para sa Kaunlarang Pang-Agraryo (TPKP) project – all to enhance agricultural productivity and improve the living conditions of the Negrense farmers.
In his message, President Marcos said that the government remains relentless in realizing its promise to emancipate the tenant from the bondage of the soil, transferring to them the ownership of the land they till and providing them the various support services they needed to enhance agricultural productivity.
“Sa ating pagtaguyod ng Bagong Pilipinas, layunin natin ang sabay-sabay na pag-unlad kung saan walang sinuman ang maiiwan sa pag-asenso (As we continue to advance towards the Bagong Pilipinas, we endeavor to achieve a kind of progress where no one is left behind),” he said.
He further instructed the DAR to strengthen its coordination with other government agencies to carefully assess and expedite the identification of beneficiaries for the utilization of its agricultural lands.
Under the leadership of Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado M. Estrella III, this culminating activity represents a significant step towards fulfilling its commitment to the President's directive to expedite land distribution and improve the quality of life of all farmers. These land titles generated under the new lands (2,686 CLOAs) and the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project (2,038 e-Titles), signify not just ownership on the part of the ARBs but more importantly, a once in a lifetime opportunity to be liberated from the quagmire of poverty.
DAR Region VI Regional Director Atty. Sheila B. Enciso highlighted the importance of both new lands and SPLIT Project in the distribution efforts. New lands, targeted under the Land Tenure Improvement (LTI) program, aim to bring additional agricultural lands under the ownership of qualified farmers. Meanwhile, SPLIT Project focuses on subdividing previously collective Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CCLOAs) into individual titles, strengthening land tenure security and property rights.
Moving forward to a better tomorrow, DAR remains devoted in its quest of empowering agrarian communities, and fostering rural development and national industrialization. Through collaborative efforts with the different partner agencies and stakeholders, these initiatives will pave the way for a productive and brighter future for the agrarian reform beneficiaries in Western Visayas.
