President Marcos distributes Certificates of Condonation and Land Ownership Award to farmers

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. today distributed 1,119 Certificates of Condonation and Release of Mortgage (COCROMs) covering 1,728.349 hectares of land to 1,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) from the municipalities of San Miguel, Baliwag, San Rafael, San Ildefonso, Angat, Bustos, Norzagaray, Balagtas, Bocaue, Pandi, San Jose del Monte, and Sta. Maria, Bulacan, condoning the total ARB debt of PHP 274,970,474.26.

The distribution of COCROMs fulfills the mandate of Republic Act No. 11953, or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act (NAEA), which aims to erase all unpaid principal amortizations, interests, and surcharges on agricultural lands awarded under the government’s agrarian reform program.

A total of 300,000 COCROMs are targeted for distribution before the end of this year.

The event also featured the awarding of 343 Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) covering 232.76 hectares to 287 ARBs from Nasugbu, Batangas (Region IV-A), which is part of DAR’s accelerated land title distribution program, in fulfillment of the President’s directive to complete the agrarian land distribution program by 2028.

As of September 2024, the DAR, under President Marcos’ administration, has distributed 136,116 land titles to 138,718 ARBs nationwide, covering a total of 164,088 hectares. An additional 101,666 titles are scheduled for distribution in the remaining months of 2024.

DAR Secretary Conrado M. Estrella III emphasized that “this event celebrates not only the birthday of our President but also expands opportunities and new beginnings for our farmers. Through the initiative 'Sariling Lupa para sa Bagong Bukas na Masagana,' we fulfill our promise to provide land and prosperity to the farmers, the unsung heroes who feed our nation.”