More than 6,000 Eastern Visayas farmers now land owners
TACLOBAN CITY—Farmers in Eastern Visayas regions celebrated a significant milestone this week as the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) awarded land titles, certificates of condonation with release of mortgage (Cocrom), and farm equipment worth P50 million in a program at the Tacloban City Astrodome.
Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III led the distribution on Tuesday, marking a major step toward securing land ownership and improving productivity for agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) across the six provinces in the region.
A total of 4,613 electronic land titles (e-titles) covering 10,000.73 hectares were awarded to 4,190 farmers, while 3,011 Cocrom documents, which release beneficiaries from existing mortgage obligations, were handed out to 2,048 farmers, covering 4,492.39 ha valued at nearly P100 million.
One of the recipients, 81-year-old Angela Pelones from the village of Borok in Ormoc City, Leyte, expressed her joy at finally securing her own land title.
“I have been dreaming about this, and finally, after so many years, the land is now mine. Thank you to our government,” she said.
Pelones will cultivate her 1-ha land with the help of her 30-year-old grandson, while all seven of her children live in Metro Manila.
Farm machines, equipment
In addition to land rights, farm vehicles, machines and equipment were distributed to agrarian cooperatives and farmers’ organizations in Samar, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte and Biliran. These included hauling trucks, motorcycles, tractors, mobile rice mills, floating tillers, and rice threshers with blowers that would help boost farm productivity and livelihood.
The DAR has set its sights on completing the nationwide distribution of 800,000 remaining land titles before the end of President Marcos’ term in 2028. While the agency initially targeted 300,000 titles in 2025, weather-related disruptions had delayed delivery, with just over 200,000 titles distributed as of November.
But Estrella remains hopeful to hit the agency’s target.
“Once land title distribution is completed, the DAR will fully shift its efforts toward expanded support services for ARBs,” he said.
In Eastern Visayas alone, 8,860 farmers have benefited from 11,067 e-titles covering 18,107 ha, out of the region’s 40,600-ha target for 2025.
