About 94 farmer-agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in the province of Pangasinan have received their computerized land titles through Project SPLIT or the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

DAR Undersecretary for Foreign-Assisted and Special Projects Office, Virginia Orogo, in her speech during the distribution on Friday, called on the recipients to “take care of the lands given to you” as she assured the continuance of the distribution of individual land titles to ARBs or landless agricultural workers.

This was also the call of Pangasinan Governor Amado Espino III in his speech, as he urged the beneficiaries not to sell or use the lands as collateral and instead to cultivate them even more.

Espino thanked the DAR and the World Bank, which funded the project.

Project SPLIT aims to divide collective certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) into individual land titles.

The services of Project SPLIT are free for all agrarian reform beneficiaries whose names appear annotated in group CLOAs, and who wish to have their collective land title.

The program has a budget of PHP24.6 billion.

As of March 31, the field validation teams have successfully validated 9,093.3 hectares or 1,136 landholdings in Pangasinan, benefitting 5,935 farmer-beneficiaries (3,472 men and 2,463 women). (PNA)