P8M land amortization of agrarian beneficiaries in Samar condoned

By JOSE ALSMITH L. SORIA
April 23, 2025

JIABONG, Samar – More than eight million pesos of unpaid land amortizations, including interests, of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) were forborne following Department of Agrarian Reform’s (DAR’s) two-day simultaneous distribution of Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (COCROMs) across this province.

The said amount covered an aggregate area of 728.3497 hectares of farm lands situated in different places in Samar.

Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II (PARPO II) Segundino Pagliawan formed three groups to expedite the distribution of the 690 COCROMS and 100 Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) in 16 towns and in the cities of Catbalogan and Calbayog last week.

Pagliawan, who advised the beneficiaries to make their lots awarded under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) productive and contribute to the government’s food security program, led the distribution in the towns of Basey, Marabut, Pinabacdao, Sta. Rita, and Villareal.

Engineer Lucena Mancol, chief of the Land Tenure Improvement Division, led the distribution in Calbayog City and in the towns of Gandara, San Jorge, Sta. Margarita and Tarangnan.

PARPO I Josefina Amande graced the distribution in this town and in Daram, Zumarraga, Hinabangan, San Sebastian, Motiong, Paranas and in Catbalogan City.

ARB Juliana Cabubas of Barangay Cantongtong in this town, one of the 401 recipients of COCROM, could not hide her happiness. According to her, “Daku it amon pagpasalamat nga hi kami natagan hini nga kan president ginbulig ha amon nga waray na kami kabaraydan. Salit yana daku gihap it akon pagpasalamat ha aton pangobyernohan, labi na kan Bongbong Marcos.” (We are so grateful with this help given to us by the president that we are relieved of financial burden. That is why we are so grateful to our government, especially to Bongbong Marcos.)

More than P1,400 was condoned in Cabubas’ amortization for the 1,893 sq.m. farm lot awarded to her and her husband under CARP.

President Ferdinand signed Republic Act No. 11953 (New Agrarian Reform Emancipation Act) which erased unpaid land amortizations including interests of ARBs thereby relieving them from financial burden.

Meanwhile, 92 ARBs likewise received CLOAs on the same occasion. Eighty-seven of them received their individual e-title generated under the World Bank-funded Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project, while five ARBs received CLOAs for new lands.

SPLIT project subdivides lands covered by collective CLOAs and issue individual land titles to each ARB to protect land tenure security and strengthen property rights.