INSTALLED. Some of the 57 agrarian reform beneficiaries are installed on a 32.39-hectare property in Barangay Abuanan in Bago City. During the ceremony, personnel of the Department of Agrarian Reform Negros Occidental II-South divided the beneficiaries into five batches to avoid a large gathering, the office reported on Thursday (May 15, 2020). (Photo courtesy of DAR Negros Occidental II-South)
BACOLOD CITY – The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has distributed land titles and installed 67 farmers in two areas in southern Negros Occidental in the past week.
Adhering to general community quarantine measures to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), agency personnel, and agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) wore face masks and practiced social distancing during the distribution.
The DAR Negros Occidental II-South reported on Thursday the installation of 57 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Barangay Abuanan, Bago City, and the distribution of certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) to those in Barangay Robles, La Castellana.
On Tuesday, the ARBs in Abuanan were installed on a 32.39-hectare property formerly owned by Juan Jalandoni and acquired through the compulsory acquisition scheme under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program with Extension and Reforms (Carper).
During the ceremony, the beneficiaries were divided into five batches to avoid a large gathering.
Municipal agrarian reform program officer Domingo Gatmaitan urged the farmer-beneficiaries to avail of the support services offered by the DAR and other government agencies.
“Don’t engage in activities prohibited by the agency, like selling and leasing of land. Fulfill your obligations and responsibilities, such as paying of real property tax to the local government and annual amortization to the Land Bank of the Philippines,” Gatmaitan said.
Senior agrarian reform program technologist Arren Mondejar said they would hold training sessions and workshops for the ARBs to help them develop the land awarded to them and empower them as farmer-beneficiaries.
In Barangay Robles, 10 farmer-beneficiaries received their CLOAs on May 5.
The land titles cover the 5.5658-hectare property previously owned by Engracia Dominguez and others.
Senior agrarian reform program technologist Dindo Gelasque said they observed precautionary measures through a house-to-house distribution of the land titles.
Gelasque encouraged the ARBs to make their land productive and reminded them to exercise diligence in the use, cultivation, and maintenance of the land, and pay their real property tax and amortization. (PNA)
