Four hundred two farmers in the Cordillera will benefit from Republic Act 11953 or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act signed by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. recently.
The law will benefit Agrarian Reform beneficiaries (ARBs) all over the country including the 402 farmers in the Cordillera.
The law condones all loans including interests, penalties, and surcharges incurred by ARBs from the lands awarded to them under the Tenant Emancipation Decree of 1972, Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988, and the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
For the Cordillera, a total of 392 e-titles covering an aggregate area of 477,159 hectares will benefit from the Agrarian Emancipation law.
The DAR-Cordillera joined the other regions in the country in the nationwide simultaneous distribution of the Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) for the 402 ARBs in the region.
DAR-Cordillera Director Samuel Solomero outlined the importance of the new law signed by the President in helping farmers, the ARBs, recover from the effects and losses that the pandemic and other recent calamities have brought to them.
“Ang batas na ito ay layuning palayain ang mga ARBs mula sa pasanin nilang pagkakautang dahil sa lupang iginawad sa kanila ng gobyerno sa pamamagitan ng Department of Agrarian Reform. Base sa umiiral na batas, ang ARBs na nagawaran ng Emancipation Patent o CLOA ay magbabayad ng taunang land amortization sa loob ng tatlumpung taon na may anim na porsiyentong interest kada taon. Batay sa batas, ang lahat na hindi nababayarang amortisasyong principal, kasama ang interest, surcharges, at penalties ay mabubura ng batas na ito,” Solomero said.
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong congratulated the farmer-beneficiaries and lauded the President and other stakeholders who played a vital role in the realization of the new Agrarian Emancipation Act and the successful awarding of the CLOA to the deserving farmer beneficiaries.
Conegonda Tuscano, an ARB from San Juan Abra, also expressed her gratitude to the President for signing the law and for the awarding of CLOA to the beneficiaries like her.
“Ako po ay nagpapasalamat sa ating President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. dahil sa pag- approve sa CLOA na nari-receive namin ngayon at ang kanyang pagpirma ng emancipation act na wala ng babayaran ang mga farmers.” – Carlito Dar
