42 Agrarian Beneficiaries in Cavite Receive Individual Land Titles under Project SPLIT

TAGAYTAY, Cavite — May 30, 2024 — In a significant move to enhance the security of tenure for agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) distributed individual land titles to 42 ARBs in Cavite covering 39 hectares of agricultural land in the municipalities of Magallanes, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, and Silang.

Acting upon the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to secure the land tenure of the ARBs, DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III facilitated the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) project, funded by the World Bank, which will subdivide collective certificates of land ownership award (CCLOAs) into individual land titles.

DAR CALABARZON Regional Director Macdonald Galit encouraged the beneficiaries to make productive use of their acquired lands.

"DAR's mandate does not end with the distribution of land. We will also give you various assistance to make your lands productive," said Galit, highlighting that DAR will provide support services including farm machinery and equipment.

DAR Cavite Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer James Arthur Dubongco underscored the importance of this initiative, stating, "The distribution of land and land title is a directive of our President to our Secretary, the President’s simple way of bringing the government services closer to the people."

He further noted that the 39 hectares distributed are part of a larger effort, with an additional 2,700 hectares still undergoing validation for distribution later this year.

One of the beneficiaries, Felilia Gargoles, a 64-year-old farmer from Magallanes, expressed her heartfelt gratitude for Project SPLIT.

"My gratitude to the Project SPLIT program is overflowing. It is a very happy feeling that we are now holding our long-awaited land title. Now it's named after us and it's not like before that our names are all collectively put in one title," Gargoles shared.

She plans to diversify her farm, which currently produces bananas, mangoes, and coconuts, by adding vegetables to her crops. She also expressed confidence in the government’s support, saying, "Now I have proven that the government is not abandoning us. It didn't