THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Negros Occidental-North has distributed over 30 hectares land to 40 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in a series of certificates of land ownership award (Cloa) distribution in Escalante City last week.
Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer Maritess Resano, who led the ceremony, said the land is given to farmer-beneficiaries to improve their lives and that of their families.
"We sincerely understand your laborious farming responsibilities thus, this ceremony is about honoring you and your hardwork," she told the ARBs.
Ressano said the land acquisition and distribution are painstaking processes so they want farmers to value the land given to them by the government.
She reminded ARBs "not to engage in any form of lease contract and make sure to fulfill their tax obligations and amortizations as proprietors of the land."
The involved landholdings formerly owned by Candido Carbajosa and Antonio Javellana are located in Barangays Mabini and Udtongan in the northern Negros Occidental locality.
The land was covered through the land acquisition and distribution (LAD) process under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (Carper).
In its mandate, public and private agricultural landholdings are acquired by the government to be distributed to tenants, farmers, farmworkers and other tillers who are qualified to become ARBs.
This in the form of Cloas covering one contiguous tract or several parcels of land cumulated up to a maximum of three hectares per ARB.
This is anchored to the agency's aim to provide lands to landless farmers and farmworkers, guarantee the farmers' land security, deliver social equity, and provide them with the necessary productive resources needed to ensure their economic viability and productivity.
With Negros Occidental still under the modified general community quarantine, the participants observed minimum health protocols during the activity.