The Department of Agrarian Reform has provided individual electronic land titles to 1,172 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Bicol Region as part of the Support to Parcelization of Land for Individual Titling (SPLIT) or Project SPLIT.
DAR-Bicol Regional Director Reuben Theodore C. Sindac said the e-titles cover 1,977 hectares of agricultural lands located throughout the region, which include 289 e-titles for Albay, 249 for Camarines Sur I, 126 for Camarines Sur II, 210 for Sorsogon, 141 for Masbate, 136 for Camarines Norte, and 78 for Catanduanes.
“It is the directive of our Secretary Conrado Estrella III, to expedite the subdivision of collective certificates of land ownership awards (CCLOAs) into individual titles for distribution to qualified farmer-beneficiaries,” Sindac said.
Meanwhile, Albay had the largest number of individual e-titles with 476.2 hectares in terms of land areas. This is followed by Sorsogo with 353.1 hectares, and Camarines Sur I with 327.1 hectares. Camarines Sur II and Camarines Norte had 264 hectares and 263.2 hectares, respectively, while Masbate had 209.6 hectares and Catanduanes with 83.7 hectares.
“By distributing individual e-titles to ARBs, the DAR seeks to empower farmers and unlock economic opportunities for them. This initiative marks the government’s commitment to agrarian reform, and it is expected to bring significant benefits to the ARBs and their families,” added Sindac.
With the issuance of individual titles, Sindac said the beneficiaries will be installed on their designated lots, which means improving their land tenure security and asserting rightful ownership of their land.
The distribution of land titles in Capitol Complex, Pili, Camarines Sur, was done simultaneously with the signing into law of Republic Act (RA) 11953 or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on July 7.