TACLOBAN CITY – Agrarian reform beneficiary (ARB) Rodolfo Regis from Palo, Leyte was extremely happy to receive his certificate of condonation with release of mortgage (COCROM) on Wednesday, April 29 this year, which erased his more than half a million peso unpaid balance at the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), freeing him from financial burden.
“I am very happy! A big thanks to the President for issuing this law that condones all our unpaid balances,” Regis exclaimed. I am sure this will have a great effect to my co-farmers who are also beneficiaries of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) with remaining unpaid loans,” He added.
Regis was referring to Republic Act No. 11953 otherwise known as the New Agrarian Emancipation Act signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on July 7, 2023. The said law condones all unpaid loans of ARBs, related to their awarded lots, including interests.
When asked for his reaction, Regis, 65, said, “I can no longer afford to pay the loan amount of P659,160.49. That is why I am very grateful to our President and Secretary Conrado Estrella III for this opportunity.”
Regis’ story was just among the 11,917 ARBs across Eastern Visayas who were relieved from financial burden following receipt of their COCROMs.
A total of 14,838 COCROMS were distributed on Wednesday condoning P799,524,119 unpaid loans of ARBs for the 42,948 hectares awarded farm lots.
Aside from COCROMs, DAR also distributed on the same occasion 16,023 individual land titles, covering 20,301 hectares of agricultural lands situated in different parts of the region, to 13,767 ARBs.
This individual titles were issued under the World Bank-funded Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project. Lands previously covered by collective Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) were subdivided and the ARBs were issued with individual titles to strengthen their property rights over their awarded lots.
“I am happy to receive this. I did not expect this anymore because I am already old. I have little time left,” said 89 years old Santos Abud from Caibiran, Biliran.
Three DAR undersecretaries, Kazel Celeste of the Field Operations Office, Josef Angelo Martires of the Support Services Office and Rowena Niña Taduran of the Special
Concerns Office, represented Estrella to lead the distribution of COCROMs and land titles at the Tacloban City Convention Center.
In her message to the ARBs, Celeste said, “Isa lang po ang hihilingin natin sa ating mga ARB. Ito ay sana alagaan po natin ang lupa na ipinagkaloob sa inyo ng gobyerno. Alagaan po natin yan, wag po natin ibebenta yan dahil makakaasa po kayo na nandito lang ang DAR para tumulong sa ating mga magsasaka.”
Meanwhile, Martires promised to flood this region with farm support assistance, “Kasama ng titulong yan, kung binabaha lagi ang Leyte at Samar, ang pangako ni Secretary Conrado Estrella III, babaha ng support services sa Leyte at Samar. Pero dapat malinaw, hindi darating yan sa individual agrarian reform beneficiary. Kailangan ayusin nyo ang inyong hanay. Kailangan maging asosasyon kayo. At eventually maging kooperatiba kayo.”
Further, Taduran left a reminder for the ARBs to ponder, “Tandaan po natin, ang lupa ay hindi lamang para sa kasalukuyan, kundi isang pamana para sa susunod na henerasyon. Kaya ito po ay pangalagaan ninyo at pagyamanin. Kung ito po ay ating pahahalagahan at pauunlarin, hindi lamang tayo ang makikinabang kundi pati ang mga anak at apo natin.”
Moreove, DAR Eastern Visayas Regional Director, Atty. Robert Anthony Yu asked everyone to work together and make this region a “powerhouse of agricultural productivity and a model of rural development.”
(JOSE ALSMITH L. SORIA)
