Marcos hopes land titles to be given to beneficiaries in 2024 will be doubled

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Wednesday expressed hope that the number of land titles that will be distributed to agrarian reform beneficiaries would be doubled.

''Patunay sa sipag ng DAR (Department of Agrarian Reform) ang mahigit na 90,000 titulo na naipamahagi noong 2023, nakaraang taon, lagpas ng 40,000 sa target na 50,000 sana lang na titulo,'' Marcos said in his speech during the regionwide e-titles distribution in Davao City.

''Umaasa ako na dadami o dodoble pa sa taon ng 2024. Ang mahigit na dalawang libong titulo na ipamamahagi natin ngayon dito sa Davao ay magandang simula, at simula lamang, para sa 2024,'' Marcos added.

In July, Marcos signed the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, which will condone the amortization of principal payments, interest and penalties on land tilled by farmers.

The new law, or the Republic Act No. 11953, will benefit 610,054 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) as it writes off P57.557 billion of their loans.

Wednesday's event, led by the DAR, is for the distribution of around 2,500 e-titles covering an aggregate area of approximately 3,560 hectares across the region .

This event is pursuant to the implementation of the DAR’s Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project, which is anchored on improving land tenure security and strengthening the property rights of ARBs.

According to the DAR, it plans to distribute Collective Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CCLOAs) to more than 1,140,000 ARBs in different provinces and regions, which covers an aggregate area of around 1,367,833 hectares of land across the country. —KG, GMA Integrated News