BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
More farmer-beneficiaries from the towns of La Castellana and Toboso, Negros Occidental received their certificates of Land Ownership from the Department of Agrarian Reform in the first two weeks of the month.
Records from the southern and northern offices of DAR in the province showed that 72 farmers received their CLOAs in Toboso on Wednesday while the rest, from La Castellana, got their CLOAs last week.
The beneficiaries from La Castellana are all residents of Brgy. Sag-ang and received their land titles on March 5, Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer Rhoda Jugos said.
Jugos said the farmers will share the 26.0020 hectares of the aggregate and 36.1896 – hectare of agricultural landholdings formerly owned by Francisco Mapa Feria, that underwent compulsory acquisition through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms.
She told the beneficiaries to help the agency uphold the rights of tillers to own, control, secure, cultivate, enhance their agricultural lands, and improve their quality of life through rural development and national industrialization.
Jugos also vowed to assist the new landowners in forming their cooperative to be capacitated to avail of various support services under the agency’s major final outputs.
Senior Agrarian Reform Program Technologist, Carlos Mamon, who was present during the turnover activity, discussed the rights and responsibilities of CARP-beneficiaries under the law, such as paying of land taxes and land amortizations to the Land Bank of the Philippines.
In Toboso, the distribution of CLOAs was led by Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer (MARPO) Jasmin Castillo on Wednesday.
Castillo said a total of 45.8168 hectares covered landholding formerly owned by Albino dela Cruz in Brgy. Salamanca, were distributed to the farmers.
She urged the farmers to make the land productive in a way that can uplift their economic stability and to always fulfill their obligations as new landowners by paying the annual amortizations and land taxes.
Municipal Assessor Allan Leonor and Jonel Rosa-ot represented Mayor Richard Jaojoco in the activity and congratulated the farmer-beneficiaries.*
