PBBM celebrates 67th birthday by distributing Condonation Certificates to 6,000 Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries in Nueva Ecija

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. celebrated his birthday by distributing 9,832 Certificates of Condonation and Release of Mortgage (COCROMs) to 6,000 Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) from Central Luzon in an event held at the Nueva Ecija Coliseum in Palayan City. These certificates, which cover 10,445.19 hectares of land, condone P276.7 million of ARB debt.

This ceremony marks the first distribution of COCROMs in Central Luzon under the New Agrarian Emancipation Act (RA No. 11953).

“Simula ngayon, magbabago ang buhay ng anim na libong magsasaka dito sa inyong lugar... Sa tulong nito, maiibsan ang bigat ng inyong mga pasanin at magkakaroon ang lahat [ng] pagkakataong makabangon at makapagsimulang muli,” the President said.

An additional 4,640 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Nueva Ecija are slated to receive their COCROMs by October, bringing the total condoned debt in the province to P511 million.

Alongside the distribution of COCROMs, President Marcos personally turned over P41 million in agricultural credit checks to 480 agrarian reform beneficiaries from 12 agrarian reform beneficiary organizations (ARBOs) in the region.

This initiative, a collaboration among the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Department of Agriculture (DA), is part of the Accessible Loans for Empowered, Resilient, and Transformed (ALERT) ARBOs Program.

These efforts reflect DAR's commitment to ensuring ARBs can fully capitalize on the benefits provided by their lands, boost their productivity, and improve their overall quality of life.

President Marcos reiterated the government’s commitment to supporting farmers, emphasizing the importance of continued investment in agrarian reform programs that not only uplift farmers but also contribute to the nation's food security.