A total of 44 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Ligao City, Albay province have received emancipation patents (EP) and certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) this month.

Maria Flora Serra, DAR-Albay information officer, said the distribution of titles to the 44 qualified ARBs was conducted in two separate awarding ceremonies that covered a total area of 40.55 hectares.

“The 36 beneficiaries received their titles covering a total area of 19.3183 hectares located in Barangay Guilid, Cavasi, and Bacong. Eight farmer-beneficiaries received the land titles of distributed landholdings with a total of 21.2317 hectares, also in Ligao City,” Serra said in an interview on Wednesday.

She said the activities are in line with the directive of DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III to accelerate the process of land distribution.

“After the distribution for August, we are already preparing for the awarding and distribution of titles for qualified beneficiaries from September to November this year. The schedule will depend on the registration of the titles with the Registry of Deeds (ROD),” Serra said.

She assured that ARBs will continue to receive support from the agency as part of their mandates to attain social and economic stability for the farmers.

“The department is working continuously on having more qualified ARBs receiving their title. It is part of our mandate that every month, we must award and distribute land title to beneficiaries,” Serra said.

Albay Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II engineer Maria Eugenia Alteza reminded the ARBs to be more responsible with the lands they now own and urged them to promptly pay their taxes.

Under Presidential Decree 27, beneficiaries need to comply with their statutory obligations as a CLOA awardee. Their title serves as a guarantee of their security of tenure over the landholdings that they have tilled and occupied.

“DAR Albay shall endeavor to distribute the targeted number of CLOAs for 2023, being fully aware that the present dispensation has set its eyes on the continuity of the agrarian reform program,” she said.

DAR-Albay is determined to distribute 800 hectares of land to 806 deserving and qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries. (PNA)