FREE LAND TITLES. Ilonggos receive their land titles from House Speaker Martin Romualdez (4th from left) in Guimbal, Iloilo in December 2023. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources reported on Monday (March 11, 2024) that it released 2,204 free residential and agricultural patents covering 882.097 hectares in Western Visayas in 2023, exceeding the 1,600 target patents in the region. (Photo courtesy of DENR 6)
ILOILO CITY–The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) released 2,204 free residential and agricultural patents covering 882.097 hectares (ha) in Western Visayas in 2023, exceeding the 1,600 target patents in the region.
“Free patents for residential and agricultural lands are given to qualified applicants in a much more simplified and practical administrative titling process, giving a sense of security to occupants or owners of alienable and disposable lands,” the DENR said in a statement on Monday.
The DENR, through the licenses, patents, and deeds division, in partnership with provincial and community environment and natural resources offices (PENROs/CENROs), released over 1,255 agricultural free patents with a total land area of 852.7443 (ha) and 949 residential land titles for 29.3527 hectares.
The agricultural patents included 508 with 224.4297 ha. in Aklan, 280 patents for 227.1206 ha in Iloilo, 214 with 140.2574 ha in Antique, 62 with 125.4067 ha in Capiz, 105 patents for 61.3765 ha in Guimaras, and 82 patents with 74.1534 ha in Negros Occidental.
Residential patents were for Aklan with 258 for 9.4114 ha.; Antique, 211 patents for 6.0446 ha.; Iloilo, 199 for 5.9260 ha.; Negros Occidental, 166 with 3.2754 ha.; Capiz, 57 for 1.8863 ha.; and Guimaras, 58 with 2.8090 hectares.
Republic Act 10023 or the Residential Free Patent Act and Republic Act 11231 or the Agricultural Free Patent Reform Act, mandate the provision of free land titling for qualified lot owners.
“I laud the efforts of our field offices in making our services more accessible to the people, including the issuance of free patents to residential and agricultural lands. It is one of the major services of DENR and we are committed to further improve our services so that more of our clients can benefit from this,” DENR regional executive director Livino Duran said. (PNA)
