72 Biliran farmers freed from land amortization and debts

By JOSE ALSMITH L. SORIA
April 11, 2025

NAVAL, Biliran – Seventy-two agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) across this province were relieved from financial burden after they received their Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (COCROMs) from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) last week.

Chief Agrarian Reform Program Officer (CARPO) Thelma Alba, head of DAR Biliran, handed in her office during simple ceremony 92 COCROMs which condoned more than ₱1.4 million of unpaid amortizations and loans, including interests, of the 72 ARBs.

On the same occasion, Alba handed also 64 individual e-titles generated under the World Bank-funded Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project to the same number of ARBs.

The e-titles covered an aggregate area of 57.4 hectares situated in the municipalities of Almeria, Cabucgayan, Caibiran, Culaba, Kawayan, Naval and Biliran.

As maybe recalled, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed on July 7, 2023 Republic Act no. 11953, or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, emancipating ARBs from financial burden by condoning all principal loans, unpaid amortizations and interests and exempting payment of estate tax on agricultural lands awarded under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).