TUBOD, Lanao del Norte (PIA) — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is set to distribute 2,566 land titles for 3,009.57 hectares (ha) of agricultural land to 2,857 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Northern Mindanao on July 5 at the Mindanao Civic Center (MCC) Gymnasium.
The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)-10 reports that 2,025 ARBs will receive 1,522 certificates of land ownership awards (CLOA). CLOAs are legal documents issued by the DAR to grant ownership of agricultural land parcels to ARBs.
Meanwhile, 1,044 e-titles will be distributed to 832 ARBs under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) project. It aims to divide lands previously awarded under collective CLOAs and provide ARBs with individual land titles to ensure clearer property rights and enhance productivity and investment potential.
The land title distribution in Northern Mindanao includes 1,344 titles for 1,039.66 ha of agricultural land to 1,559 ARBs in Bukidnon, 12 titles for 3.64 ha to 11 ARBs in Camiguin, 670 titles for 1,300.38 ha to 649 ARBs in Lanao del Norte, 396 titles for 484.56 ha to 392 ARBs in Misamis Occidental, and 144 titles for 181.35 ha to 246 ARBs in Misamis Oriental.
Gratitude for assistance, support
The ARBs who will receive assistance expressed gratitude. One of them is Teresa Timbal, 63, a farmer from Barangay Patudan, Tubod, Lanao del Norte, who benefited from the SPLIT project. She shared that their family owns an 8-hectare farm of corn, coconut, and bananas. Through the project, the land has been subdivided among eight siblings, as each will receive 1 hectare of their parents’ land.
Timbal expressed gratitude to the president for the agrarian reform program that will finally grant them individual land titles after a three-year wait.
“Dako jud nga tabang ug mahimo pang duphon, di jud madupa. Dako akong akoang kalipay. Naluag-luag akong gibati nga nigawas na ang titulo nga maiya-iya na jud namo sa among igsoon,” she said.
(It’s such a big help, and if it could be measured, it really can’t be measured. I am very happy. I feel so relieved that the title has finally come out and is truly ours among my siblings.)
Additionally, Marcos will turn over farm machinery and equipment worth P2.68 million to agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations in Lanao del Norte. The equipment includes 1 mini hauling vehicle, 1 mobile corn sheller, 1 mini mobile rice mill, 1 rice mill, 1 hauling vehicle, 1 farm tractor, and 1 banana slicing chopper machine.
Elizabeth Alamag Yane, 50, a farmer and processor at the Bualan Agrarian Reform Community Cooperative based in Tubod town, is thankful that their ARBO will receive a banana-slicing machine from DAR. She shared that it will facilitate easier and more efficient banana chip production since they currently only process banana chips three times a month using manual peeling methods. With the banana-slicing chopper machine that they will receive, she said they will be able to process daily.
“Dako jud kaayo ko’g pasalamat nga madali na ang among pagluto ug successive na gyud mi. Mao jud ang among gipangita aron dili na mi malangan,” she said.
(I am very thankful that our banana processing will now become faster and more efficient. This is what we have been looking for so that we could produce efficiently.)
The Department of Social Welfare and Development will also distribute P10,000 in cash assistance to 8,505 minimum wage earners, or those workers who earn P438 per day or less in Lanao del Norte, through the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program. The distribution will take place at the MCC Grandstand. (LELA/PIA-10/Lanao del Norte)
