LEGAZPI CITY – The Department of Agrarian Reform in Bicol (DAR-5) has distributed nearly 21,000 land titles and Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (COCROM) to farmers across the six provinces in the region in 2024.
In a report on Thursday, DAR-5 Director Reuben Theodore Sindac said that 20,986 combined titles and COCROMs were issued to 17,961 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), covering 28,658.96 hectares of land.
“The year 2024 was significant for the DAR staff and especially for our ARBs. From the beginning, our primary goal has been to provide them with the titles and support services necessary for the continued growth of their farmland, the products they supply to the public, and their organizations,” he said.
Sindac also reported that the government had spent more than PHP480 million in condonation amounts to address all principal loans, unpaid amortizations, and interest.
Under the COCROM program, DAR-5 distributed 17,010 certificates to 14,295 ARBs, covering 22,639 hectares of land, and issued 1,478 land titles to 1,404 ARBs, encompassing 1,969.93 hectares.
Sindac also highlighted that at least 2,498 electronic land titles (e-titles) were distributed under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) project, benefiting 2,262 ARBs and covering 4,049.05 hectares of land.
Sindac said that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. presided over the land title distribution event in Bicol on June 7, 2024.
Two consecutive distributions of land titles and COCROM, which certify that landowners are free from debts related to their properties, were confirmed when President Marcos signed the New Agrarian Emancipation Act (R.A. 11953) on July 7, 2023.
The first distribution, led by Senator Imee Marcos, took place on November 26 and covered the provinces of Albay, Catanduanes, Masbate, and Sorsogon.
On December 20, the second distribution was led by DAR Undersecretary Rowena Niña Taduran for the provinces of Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte.
Sindac noted that they would strive to fulfill the President’s vision of having all beneficiary farmers receive their land titles before the end of his term. (PNA)