TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) distributed 15,382 electronic land titles covering more than 36,622 hectares of agricultural land to 16,217 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) from the six provinces of Eastern Visayas on Tuesday afternoon.
DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III led the distribution during a ceremony at the Leyte Convention Complex in Palo, Leyte, as the agency stepped up its efforts to secure land ownership for farmers through its Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project.
The number of titles distributed was increased by 4,582 after the Registry of Deeds released additional registered titles shortly before the event, allowing more ARBs to receive their individual land ownership documents.
The beneficiaries came from Leyte, Southern Leyte, Biliran, Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar provinces.
The distribution was conducted through a hybrid arrangement. ARBs from Leyte and Southern Leyte attended the ceremony in person with Estrella at the convention complex, while DAR provincial personnel and beneficiaries from Samar, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, and Biliran participated online.
The SPLIT Project is a DAR program that facilitates the subdivision and individual titling of agricultural lands previously covered by collective Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs), giving qualified beneficiaries individual titles to their respective farm lots.
During the ceremony, Estrella urged the beneficiaries to continue farming, noting their role in ensuring food production in the country.
“I hope you will not leave farming so that we can continue planting and providing food for our fellow Filipinos,” Estrella said.
He also encouraged the beneficiaries to support their children in pursuing college education, saying he wanted to see the next generation of farming families obtain professional degrees.
Estrella said the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would continue providing assistance to farmers to improve their livelihoods and agricultural productivity.
Among the assistance he cited were the construction of farm-to-market roads to facilitate the faster transport of farm produce, distribution of fertilizers and farm equipment, and the condonation of qualified existing agricultural loans.
The activity also included the ceremonial turnover of farm machinery and equipment worth P5.495 million to selected Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBOs).
The equipment is intended to support the organizations’ agricultural activities, reduce production constraints and improve farm productivity.
The distribution of the individual land titles forms part of DAR’s continuing implementation of land reform programs aimed at providing farmers with secure land tenure while complementing land distribution with agricultural support services.
For the beneficiaries, the individual electronic titles provide formal documentation of their ownership of the land awarded to them under the agrarian reform program, which can help provide greater security in managing and developing their farms.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
