ILOILO City — Nearly 11,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries in Western Visayas have gained individual ownership rights over 18,598 hectares of agricultural land as the government accelerated the breakup of collective landholdings that had long limited farmers’ control over their properties.
The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Region 6 distributed 11,965 electronic land titles to 10,998 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras and Iloilo under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (Project SPLIT).
The titles were formally awarded during a mass distribution ceremony at the Iloilo National High School in La Paz, Iloilo City, on Oct. 6.
Project SPLIT converts previously issued collective land titles into individual e-Titles, giving beneficiaries legally defined ownership of their respective parcels instead of sharing a collective title with other farmers.
Individual titling is intended to strengthen land tenure security and give farmers greater control over their properties, including the ability to make long-term farm investments and improve access to credit.
Capiz received the largest number of individual titles, with 4,181 e-Titles covering 5,427 hectares awarded to 3,848 ARBs.
Antique, meanwhile, accounted for the largest land area covered by the distribution. DAR-6 awarded 2,705 e-Titles covering 6,602 hectares to 2,701 beneficiaries.
In Iloilo, 2,741 e-Titles covering 3,596 hectares were distributed to 2,357 ARBs, while Aklan received 1,165 titles covering 1,943 hectares for 1,104 beneficiaries.
Guimaras received 1,173 e-Titles covering 1,030 hectares benefiting 988 farmers.
Aside from the Project SPLIT titles, DAR-6 distributed 166 Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) covering another 210 hectares to 107 beneficiaries under its Newlands initiative.
Of these, Capiz accounted for 93 CLOAs covering 73 hectares and benefiting 59 ARBs, while Iloilo received 56 CLOAs covering 125 hectares for 38 beneficiaries.
Another 17 CLOAs covering 12 hectares were awarded to 10 beneficiaries in Guimaras.
The mass titling program represents a shift from collective to clearly defined individual land ownership, addressing one of the lingering problems faced by agrarian reform beneficiaries whose farms had been covered by collective titles.
DAR said individual titles provide farmers with clearer and more secure rights over the land they cultivate while strengthening the foundation for greater agricultural productivity and investment.
The distribution was also accompanied by a pledge of commitment from 680 Barangay Agrarian Reform Committee (BARC) chairpersons from the five provinces.
The BARC leaders committed to continue acting as links between DAR, farmers and community institutions, particularly in mediating agrarian disputes and helping ensure that awarded lands remain productive.
Iloilo had the biggest BARC delegation with 300 chairpersons, followed by Capiz with 230, Antique with 70, Aklan with 60 and Guimaras with 20.
DAR-6 said strengthening individual land ownership is intended not only to secure farmers’ property rights but also to support agricultural productivity, rural investment and broader economic development across Western Visayas./PN
