A total of 1,286 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) from Iloilo were awarded their Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (CoCRoMs), writing off in the process PHP91.5 million worth of debt from the amortizations of lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

A total of 2,064 CoCRoMs covering 1,378.2523 hectares of agricultural lands in the towns of Anilao, Banate, Barotac Nuevo, Dumangas, Duenas, San Miguel, Leon, and Alimodian were released during a series of distributions on April 23-25 and 28.

In an interview on Tuesday, Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer (PARPO) Harriet Loot said the batch composed the last group of the classified list of recipients or those with individual titles.

“They were thankful because they no longer had to worry about their amortization with LandBank. They only have to think of their real property tax,” she said.

Loot said they still have remaining ARBs considered unclassified, or those still holding a collective Certificate of Land Ownership Award, who are yet to receive their CoCRoMs.

The debt relief is mandated under Republic Act No. 11953 or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on July 7, 2023.

The law aims to liberate ARBs from the burden of unpaid amortizations and empower them to become more productive contributors to national food security.

In a press statement, DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III said the administration of President Marcos is expecting nothing from the ARBs but for them to harness their respective farm lots for greater productivity.

“Condoning their debts from long overdue amortizations is nothing compared to their contributions to our food self-sufficiency program,” Estrella said. (PNA)