Around 1,500 farmers in Central Luzon freed from debt
RELIEVED. Senator Imee Marcos hands over the Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage to Ernesta Jocson, 60, from Baler, Aurora, condoning her debt amounting to PHP203,839.49 on Sunday (Nov. 24, 2024). The Department of Agrarian Reform said agrarian debts amounting to PHP57.798 million have been condoned by the government, giving relief to farmers and their families from Central Luzon. (Photo courtesy of DAR)
MANILA – A total of 1,483 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) from Bataan, Bulacan, and Aurora have been relieved from debts and obligations amounting to PHP57.796 million in agricultural lands awarded under the agrarian reform program.
The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said this is the fourth Certificate of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (CoCRoMs) distribution in Central Luzon.
Earlier, CoCRoMs were also distributed in Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, and Pampanga.
During a ceremony at the Victory Coliseum in San Rafael, Bulacan on Sunday, DAR distributed 1,792 CoCRoMs covering a total of 719.607 hectares of farmland to the ARBs.
One of the recipients, Ernesta Jocson, a 60-year-old widow from Baler, Aurora, expressed her gratitude to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. after her PHP203,839.49 debt for a 2.7-hectare of land has been condoned.
“Ako po ay lubos na natutuwa at nagpaapasalamat sa ating mahal na Pangulo. Sa mahabang panahon, hindi na namin nabayaran ang aming pagkaka-utang sa LandBank dahil sa kakulangan sa ekstrang kita. Ngayon, hindi na ako mag-aalala sa mga utang ko (I am very happy and grateful to our dear President. For a long time, we were not able to pay our debts to the LandBank due to lack of extra income. Now, I will not be worried about my debts anymore),” she said.
The debt condonation initiative is part of Republic Act No. 11953, or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act (NAEA), which was signed into law by President Marcos in July 2023.
The law mandates the condonation of unpaid principal amortizations, interest, and surcharges on agricultural lands awarded under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
Meanwhile, aside from the condonation certificates, DAR also distributed 57 Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) covering 40 hectares of land to 49 ARBs, as well as 128 electronic titles under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) project, benefiting 100 ARBs from Bulacan and Bataan.
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