NEGROS OCCIDENTAL (PIA) – A top regional Department of Agrarian Reform officer called on Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) recipients in the province not to sell or pawn the land the government has entrusted them.

During the recent mass distribution of CLOA in Cadiz City, DAR Region 6 Director lawyer Sheila B. Enciso urged Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) to hold on to their land by not selling or pawning it so that they will not be disqualified from availing benefits from the government.

According to Enciso ARBs who were disqualified because they were not able to pay the amortization can have their land back.

“If their land was already awarded to other beneficiaries, the DAR will look for another land to be given to them,” she said.

If the cause of their disqualification, however, is due to abandonment or was sold, they are deemed disqualified in the Land Reform program

She said the government has various support services but ARBs need to form an association or a cooperative to be able to access government funds.

Enciso also made clear that farmers are still required to pay real property tax as it is not included in the condonation.

“Pay your property tax and make your land productive,” she said. (AAL/Lljr/PIA 6 Negros Occidental)