By Daniel P. Tapaoan, Jr. 

In time with the signing of the New Agrarian Emancipation Act (RA 11953) by Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos today, July 7, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has distributed 4,000 land titles to 2,555 Ilokanos in Region I. 

Personally awarding the electronically generated land titles to the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) were Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Manotoc, DAR Regional Director Maria Ana Francisco, and Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer Vic Ines. It was witnessed by MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis, other DAR officials, and representatives of local government units. 

Senator Imee Marcos and other national government officials attended the ceremonial signing held in Malacañang Palace.

Held at the Mariano Marcos State University - Teatro Ilocandia in Batac, Ilocos Norte, the distribution of e-titles is in line with the national government’s goal to strengthen the property rights of farmer-beneficiaries in the country. 

“Hosting this event at our university is a testament to the intertwined legacies of our two Marcos presidents,” President Agrupis remarked. She added that MMSU, as a National University for Agriculture and Fisheries for over a decade now, remains relentless in assisting and supporting farmers with knowledge and technologies to increase their productivity.

Of the awarded e-titles that cover a total of 4,305 hectares, Ilocos Norte received the biggest number of e-titles with 2,911 (2,773.80 ha); followed by Pangasinan with 607 (874.26 ha); Ilocos Sur, 475 (639.33 ha); and La Union, 51 (73.76 ha). 

Among the thousands of ARBs in attendance, 1,636 come from Ilocos Norte, 514 from Pangasinan, 398 from Ilocos Sur, and 48 from La Union. 

ARBs are farmers and farm workers who were granted lands under Presidential Decree No. 27 (emancipation of land tenants), the amended RA 6657 (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988), and RA 9700 (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program).

Atty. Marivic Casabar, DAR regional director, said the e-titles were generated under DAR’s SPLIT Project (Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling). 

This project involves the subdivision of lands and issuance of individual titles to the farmers previously awarded with lands, distributed under a collective certificate of land ownership award.

The just-signed RA 11953 will ease the financial burden of ARBs by condoning unpaid amortizations and interests and exempting payment of estate tax of agricultural lands awarded under the comprehensive agrarian reform program.

Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado M. Estrella III thanked President Marcos and lauded Congress for the passage of the law. 

“By freeing farmers from the agrarian debt, and ensuring broader support services and credit facilities, the Marcos administration has given more resources to our farmers to increase the productivity of their farms and uplift the quality of their lives,” Estrella said.

DAR is the lead government agency that upholds and implements comprehensive and genuine agrarian reform through equitable land distribution, ownership, agricultural productivity, and tenurial security. (HLY/JVBT, StratCom)