DAR UPDATES. Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Ilocos regional director Primo Lara announces some updates during the Kapihan sa Ilocos hosted by the Philippine Information Agency Wednesday (Sept. 22, 2021). Lara said DAR seeks to subdivide more than 13,000 hectares of land in Ilocos this year. (Screenshot from PIA Region 1's virtual forum)
MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is targeting to subdivide a total of 13,522 hectares agrarian reform collective land into individual land titles in the Ilocos Region this year through its Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) project.
In the Kapihan sa Ilocos hosted by the Philippine Information Agency on Wednesday, DAR regional director Primo Lara said of the total hectares of land, 11,061 hectares have already been validated.
“DAR hired validation teams to check if the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) are still utilizing the land, or if the land was already sold or if the children or kin of the ARB were the ones utilizing the land,” he said.
In Ilocos Norte, some 3,300 hectares of land are set to be subdivided into individual titles, 2,262 hectares in Ilocos Sur, 1,042 hectares in Ilocos Norte, and 6,918 hectares in Pangasinan, he added.
“Ilocos Region is among the first regions included in the project. The other regions are Region 8 (Eastern Visayas) and Region 9 (Zamboanga del Norte),” he said.
Lara said they are now processing the landholdings with approved survey plan collective titles to be submitted to the Registry of Deeds.
The DAR is now utilizing the KoBo toolbox, an online platform in data gathering and recording for the environmental and social management framework of the SPLIT project.
The toolbox conserves the use of paper and prevents physical contact among the field validation team and the ARBs.
The data gathering for the SPLIT project becomes faster with the use of the platform.
The SPLIT project seeks to subdivide collective certificate of land ownership award (CCLOA) into individual land titles so every farmer-beneficiary may exercise full ownership and possession and will have complete control in cultivating the area the way he or she sees fit.
The World Bank is funding PHP24 billion for the SPLIT project within three years.
Meanwhile, Lara said the project also provided employment to individuals in the region through hiring for the validation team.
“We have hired members of the validation team. Each team is composed of five members -- a lawyer, who is the head of the team, a geodetic engineer, documenter, processor, and researcher,” he said.
Ilocos Norte has eight teams, Ilocos Sur with six teams, La Union with three teams, and Pangasinan with 11 teams. (PNA)
