IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay, Mar 16 (PI) – A total of 367 Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries  (ARBs) from the province’s second district -Ipil, RT Lim, Siay, Titay and Tungawan municipalities finally got their certificate of land ownership in a recent Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) distribution held at the Provincial Capitol, Ipil town.
 
No less than Atty. Kazel C. Celeste, Undersecretary for Field Operations Office, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) along with USec Amihilda J. Sangcopan of Mindanao Affairs for Rural Development Office personally handed a total of 385 CLOA with a total of 708.3419 hectares of land to ARBs.

USec Celeste emphasized that DAR’s mandate does not end with CLOA distribution alone “bawat CLOA distribution na ginagawa natin dito ay laging may nakadikit na support services

na binibigay natin sa ting mga ARBs para mas mapaayos pa ang kanilang pagsasaka, at para mas mapabuti pa ang kanilang mga buhay, mga buhay ng kanilang mga pamilya at mga anak ng mga anak nila,” (every CLOA distribution conducted is bundled with support services for our ARBs to further improve their farming, and to improve their lives, the lives of their families, and their children's children) she said.

The young Undersecretary confidently shared that under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., ARBs will not only get support services such as provision of farm machineries and sets of equipment but a whole lot of assistance for the ARBs in the province.

“Pinapangako namin sa inyo na tayo ay magpapaulan ng isang katutak na support services para sa ating mga ARBs at sisiguraduhin natin na mararamdaman ang mga support services na ito, ng bawat ARB dito sa Zamboanga Sibugay,” she committed.

(We promise you that we will provide the best support services for our ARBs and we will make sure that every ARB here in Zamboanga Sibugay will feel these support services.) 

Along with the distribution, USec Celeste also announced some good news saying ARBs can now enjoy a year-long moratorium on land amortization and interest payments of ARBs for agricultural lands distributed under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed on 13 September 2022 an Executive Order to freeze CARP payments for a year, thereby allowing ARBs to save and utilize funds for farm development and improved productivity.

“Ang moratorium na ito ay isang patikim lang, dahil ang main course ay ginagawa pa natin sa kongreso, na kung saan gumagawa po tayo ng isang batas na nagsasabing wala na po kayong (ARBs) babayarang utang sa inyong mga lupa na ibinigay ng DAR, kailanman,” (this moratorium is just a sample, because the main course is still brewing in congress, where we are making a law that says that you (ARBs) will no longer have to pay debts on your lands given by the DAR) USec Celeste said.