Conrado M. Estrella III, Secretary of Agrarian Reform, urged farmer beneficiaries not to sell or pawn their most valued possession- their awarded Lands, which were surveyed, parcelized, and titled for them for free by the government, with significant assistance from the World Bank.

On May 5th, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) distributed land titles to 286 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) from the provinces of Bukidnon, Camiguin, and Misamis Oriental. The land titles were composed of electronic land titles (e-titles) and certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs).

DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III personally led the distribution of the land titles. The total land area distributed was 387.7 hectares, with 199.9 hectares awarded to 150 ARBs under the agency’s Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project. This includes 179 e-titles which were distributed during the ceremony.

Luciano Rayos, one of the ARBs from Misamis Oriental, was filled with joy after receiving his land title after waiting for many years. “I am thankful to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and to the DAR for finally giving us this land. With this land, our lives will change for the better,” Rayos said. 

The distribution of land titles to ARBs is part of DAR’s mandate to empower farmers and support their livelihood. The agency aims to distribute land titles to more ARBs in the coming years to help them improve their quality of life.

During the land title distribution ceremony, DAR Secretary Estrella reminded the farmers that the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project is one of the priority programs of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to free the farmers from the bondage of the soil. The SPLIT project aims to subdivide collective certificates of land ownership awards (CCLOAs) that were previously issued by DAR and turn them into individual land titles.

“So please, do not sell or pawn the land,” Estrella reminded the farmers.

“I am very pleased to see the happy face of the ARBs,” Estrella said in an interview, noting that the lands would be a big boost in the lives of the farmers in Bukidnon, Camiguin, and Misamis Oriental.