BUTUAN CITY – For President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the government’s agrarian reform program is not only about acquisition but also for support services and distribution of lands to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).
The President emphasized this during his first State of the Nation Address in June last year.
In the Caraga Region, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR-13) distributed 1,690 hectares (has) to 1,256 ARBs from July 2022 to June this year.
“During the period, the ARBs received their land titles through the Certificates of Land Ownership Awards or CLOAs and the e-Titles under the SPLIT project of the DAR,” said DAR-13 Director Merlita Capinpuyan in a statement on Tuesday.
Of the total land areas awarded to the beneficiaries during the period, 339 hectares were distributed in Agusan del Norte; 506 hectares in Agusan del Sur; 436 hectares in Surigao del Norte; and 408 hectares in Surigao del Sur.
At least 255 ARBs in Agusan del Norte also received their land titles during the period with 388 in Agusan del Sur, 402 in Surigao del Norte and 211 in Surigao del Sur.
Support services
Eight Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Associations (ARBOs) in the region with 1,974 members also received support services from DAR-13 during the period.
In Agusan del Norte, two ARBOs with 205 members received PHP3.6 million worth of farm equipment, and another two ARBOs in Agusan del Sur with 975 members got PHP4.4 million worth of farm machinery from DAR-13.
In Surigao del Norte, two ARBOs with 581 members were also provided with PHP4.8 million worth of farm equipment while two ARBOs from Surigao del Sur with 213 members also received PHP3.6 million worth of farm implements.
The farm machinery received by the ARBOs included farm tractors, rice combine harvesters and hauling trucks.
Condonation of loans
The enactment of Republic Act 11953, signed by Marcos on July 7 this year, has condoned more than PHP1 billion worth of loans of ARBs in Caraga from the Land Bank of the Philippines.
“A total of 10,945 ARBs from the region directly benefited from the new law which unburdened them from loan payments,” Capinpuyan said.
The loan condonation will include 12,933 CLOAs and emancipation patents comprising some 18,666 hectares of lands previously released by DAR-13 to ARBs, she noted.
Data provided by DAR-13 showed that of the total loans condoned, PHP474 million consisted of principal loans while PHP527 million are in the form of interest.
In Agusan Del Norte, some PHP20.8 million worth of loans of ARBs were condoned; PHP161 million in Agusan del Sur; PHP3 million in Surigao del Norte; and PHP817 million in Surigao del Sur. (PNA)
