A total of 413 agrarian reform beneficiaries in Albay province have received their electronic land titles (e-titles) from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

In an interview on Thursday, Maria Flora Serra, DAR-Albay information officer, said the distribution of the titles was under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

“The 413 agrarian reform beneficiaries are from the 15 towns and three cities in the province. The majority of them are in their senior years, tilling a total area of 595.6520 hectares,” she said.

Serra said aside from the land titles, the ARBs are entitled to different support services from the government.

“Under RA (Republic Act) 11953 or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act of 2023, if they become members of the agrarian reform beneficiary organization in their respective areas, they will be entitled to all the support services such as technical and capacity development as well as provision of farm equipment and other inputs,” she said.

In a statement, Albay Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II, engineer Maria Eugenia Alteza, reminded the farmer-beneficiary awardees that the distribution of titles is just a first step towards their empowerment.

“What will truly mark your empowerment is increased productivity as a tool in the nation’s struggle for alleviation of poverty,” Alteza said. (PNA)