• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
The Department of Agrarian Reform-Negros Island Region (DAR-NIR) distributed a total of 7,798 land titles and turned over P67.6 million worth of farm machinery and support services to the beneficiary – farmers of Negros Island Region (NIR) on Wednesday at the Manuel Y. Torres Memorial Coliseum and Cultural Center, Bago City.
The event, led by DAR Secretary Condrado Estrella III, gathered around 5,000 attendees, including 4,500 Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) from the three provinces in the region.
Of the 7,798 land titles distributed, 2,242 were new certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs), while 5,556 were e-titles, collectively covering a total of 5,524.42 hectares awarded to 4,788 ARBs.
The breakdown shows that bulk of the titles were distributed to the farmers of Negros Occidental.
Meanwhile, the agency also extended a total of P67.6 million worth of support services to local farmers, aiming to boost farm productivity in the region.
Seventy-one ARB organizations received farm machinery, organic fertilizers, and agricultural inputs.
Among the equipment distributed to the beneficiaries were 40 farm tractors, 115 cargo trucks, 13,500 packs of organic fertilizers, and other equipment suitable to boost farming. A total of 2,227 ARBs benefited from these support services.
In addition, DAR also provided a separate P6 million in relief goods to 5,913 affected agricultural sectors, including DAR employees and ARBs, impacted by Typhoons Tino and Uwan.
LOAN CONDONATION
DAR-NIR gave out 15,000 Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (CoCROMS) to 13,822 farmers in Negros Oriental, erasing a total of P1.7 billion in unpaid land payments and interest in accordance with the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, which aims to emancipate farmers from the burdens of land-related debts.
With these certificates, farmers don’t have to worry about past debts as the initiative aims to help farmers by removing their financial burdens and making land ownership easier.*
