30,000 farmers freed from P1.13-B debt

ILOILO CITY — Nearly 30,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Western Visayas are now debt-free after the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) released a total of 39,443 Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (Cocrom) on Thursday in Passi City. The Cocrom cleared the farmers of more than P1.13 billion in unpaid land amortization and interest.

The massive debt condonation, granted under Republic Act 11953 or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, benefitted 29,957 farmers in the provinces of Panay and Guimaras. Capiz recorded the highest number of condonation certificates issued, with 18,733 Cocroms granted to 12,133 ARBs. DAR Undersecretary Josef Angelo Martires said the condonation is a crucial step in helping farmers fully own the land they till and break free from financial burdens that have long hampered rural development.

“The land and the title and the equipment that you are receiving today are not just end goals. You can use this to have a better life. These are tools to build your organization, tools to uplift your communities,” Martires said. Alongside the condonation, DAR also distributed 275 Certificates of Land Ownership Award covering 283.8015 hectares to 183 ARBs in the region. Under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling Project, the agency awarded 621 electronic land titles covering 702.3216 hectares to 361 ARBs, completing their land tenure security.

To boost agricultural productivity, DAR also turned over P75 million worth of support services to 26 selected ARB organizations through the Sustainable and Resilient Agrarian Reform Communities project. These include 96 units of farm machinery and equipment amounting to P61.48 million, 14,985 packs of organic fertilizer valued at P12.73 million, and laboratory items and equipment for tissue culture worth P849,660.

“You have been waiting for this for a long time. You deserve modern, world-class support, and we also want to help you access bigger markets,” Martires added. Martires, meanwhile, appealed to the farmers to join ARB organizations to ensure that they receive financial and technological support from the department.