The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) distributed titles and installed 276 farmers in awarded lands in three sites in southern Negros Occidental from September to the first week of October.

The recipients are agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Bago City and the municipalities of Ilog and Isabela.

In a report on Monday, the DAR Negros Occidental II (South) said 16 farmer beneficiaries received certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) in Barangay 2, Ilog on Oct. 4

DAR Municipal Office-Ilog facilitated the awarding of titles for 15.30 hectares of the Benjamin de Luzuriaga landholdings.

“This initiative is part of the government’s ongoing efforts to promote agrarian reform and empower farmers by providing them with secure land tenure,” DARMO-Ilog said in a statement.

On the same day, DARMO-Bago City distributed titles and installed 50 ARBs on the landholdings of Lucy Araneta Solinap.

Located in Barangay Busay, the agricultural land that spans 19.86 hectares is “expected to provide the beneficiaries with opportunities for agricultural development and economic stability,” it said.

In Isabela, 246 CLOAs were distributed, and 210 ARBs were installed in Barangay Camangcamang on Sept. 23.

The 37.89 hectares of agricultural land in Hacienda Conchita was formerly owned by Enrique Montilla Jr.

“This successful distribution and installation mark a significant step towards empowering ARBs and ensuring their rightful access to land,” the DARMO-Isabela said in a statement.

Under the process of land acquisition and distribution of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms, public and private agricultural landholdings are acquired by the government to be distributed to tenants, farmers, farmworkers, and/or other tillers qualified to become ARBs. (PNA)