GUIMARAS — About 1,762 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Guimaras received their Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (CoCROM) from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) during a distribution ceremony on January 12, marking the agency’s first major activity for 2026.
The issuance of the CoCROMs effectively canceled more than P87.5 million in unpaid loan amortizations owed by the beneficiaries to the Land Bank of the Philippines under the New Agrarian Emancipation Act.
One of the recipients, 80-year-old Beatriz Gabales of Barangay Ravina, Sibunag, became emotional as she shared her experience during the ceremony. Gabales said she had cultivated her awarded land for about 35 years together with 15 other ARBs.
“This day is special and unforgettable. I cry and I am filled with happiness because today I receive this land without having to make any further payments to the government,” she said in her native dialect.
Gabales expressed her gratitude to God and to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for the enactment of Republic Act No. 11953, also known as the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, which freed agrarian reform beneficiaries from amortization debts and granted them full ownership of their land.
Under the law, the Guimaras beneficiaries collectively saved more than P87.5 million in amortization payments, easing their financial burden and strengthening their economic security.
The ceremonial distribution of CoCROMs and electronic land titles was held at the coliseum in Pototan, Iloilo. A total of 1,803 CoCROMs covering 2,162 hectares of land were distributed during the event.
In addition, the DAR released 6,472 electronic titles under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project, covering 13,500 hectares and benefiting 5,837 ARBs across Western Visayas.
SPLIT beneficiary Allan Sabillo underscored the importance of the electronic titles.
“Finally, after years of anticipation and decades of cultivating land that did not bear our names, we have reached the end,” Sabillo said. “This is a new chapter for us. The e-title we hold is more than just a piece of paper; it symbolizes our liberation from poverty and uncertainty.”
The distribution of electronic titles covered several provinces, including Capiz with 2,248 e-titles for 2,056 ARBs; Iloilo with 1,849 titles for 1,717 ARBs; Antique with 1,108 titles for 1,107 ARBs; Guimaras with 804 titles for 496 ARBs; and Aklan with 463 titles for 461 recipients.
DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III, who led the ceremony, described the event as a meaningful start to 2026 and urged beneficiaries to take care of their land and use it productively.
He also encouraged them to prioritize their children’s education while practicing sustainable farming, emphasizing that land ownership comes with responsibility.
The distribution, according to the DAR, reaffirms the government’s commitment to agrarian reform and to improving the lives of farmers through land security and debt relief./PN
