5K+ ARBs get PHP692M debt relief in Negros Oriental

Over 5,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Negros Oriental received financial relief in 2024 as part of a PHP692 million loan debt condonation initiative under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s administration.

Manuel Galon, provincial agrarian reform officer for the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)-Negros Oriental, announced that more than 5,300 ARBs have received Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgages (CoCRoM) since July, covering over 7,600 hectares of agricultural land.

Galon noted that DAR-Negros Oriental aims to cover an additional 40,000 hectares under the CoCRoM project next year and emphasized that some beneficiaries may hold multiple Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs).

The loan condonation program, established by Republic Act No. 11953, is aimed at improving productivity among farmers while helping them appreciate the value of their land.

In addition to CoCRoM, DAR-Negros Oriental also distributed over 4,800 e-titles under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) project, benefiting more than 2,900 ARBs and targeting an additional 33,710 hectares by 2027.

The department also awarded CLOAs to former New People's Army rebels in Basay town, providing them with individual housing units and communal farm land as part of a socialized housing project funded by various stakeholders including the provincial government.