Guindulman tops Bohol towns with DAR’s individual titling

 TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, March 24 (PIA) -- The town of Guindulman tops the towns with the largest coverage of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Support to the Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project with 96.7943 hectares now titled to 55 beneficiaries of the breaking into parcels of titled landholdings formerly owned by the landed families. 

DAR Sec. Conrado Estrella III turned over 69 titles, some of them in the form of a Certificate of Land Ownership Agreement (CLOA) and some in electronic certificates.

According to DAR Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer (PARO) Dr. Ronald Pumatong, the distribution of titles, some of them accomplishments of the DAR SPLIT Project, should allow individual farmers to break off parcels of lands they used to have communal ownership.

With this, farmers who are now in possession of individual tiles tend to be motivated better to work on their lands, to which they would also pay taxes and use the titles as collaterals to loans that they can tap from government financial institutions for financing farm improvement, he explained.

During the simultaneous Distribution of Titles and Farm Machineries in Central Visayas, which happened during the secretary’s visit to Bohol, some 544.0470 hectares of lands were titled and awarded to farmer beneficiaries and landowners.

Other than the 96 hectares awarded to Guindulman landowners, some 59 Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) received a total of 79.7472 hectares contained in 80 titles in San Miguel town.

In Danao, 55 ARBs also received formal ownership of the 74.4313 hectares stated in 73 land titles.

Over 70 hectares were also awarded to 101 ARBs through the 140 land titles in Catigbian town.

In Alicia, 51 ARBs also received their ownership documents to the 43.9929 hectares through the 68 titles in CLOAs and e-titles.

In the land of the Chocolate Hills, 53 ARBs waved their new titles of the 40.4359 hectares as stated in 53 individual titles.

Ubay has also some 29.6397 not split into 12 individual and communal titles benefitting 12 ARBs, while Trinidad adds another 23.3506 hectares distributed to 22 ARBs as evidenced by the 24 title documents and Getafe puts in 21.6298 hectares more to the list of new accomplishments with 30 beneficiaries getting 15 titles.

In Candijay, some 12 ARBs received 8 titles now segregating 15.9857 hectares now with individual and communal titles.

The plains of Dagohoy had 10 farmer ARBs getting 13 titles of the 11.8415 hectares as Sierra Bullones had 7 ABRs getting 111 titles for the 10.0978 hectares of farms and residential lands.

In nearby Pilar and served by massive irrigation systems, some 5.7288 hectares are now legally owned by 9 ARBs holding 9 titles, handed out during the ceremonies held at the Bohol Cultural Center February 21.

Dimiao had 5.4 hectares titled to 2 beneficiaries now holding 2 titles, under the DAR SPLIT project, while Talibon, another equally endowed rice producing town has 4.657 hectares now titled to 6 beneficiaries of the CARP SPLIT.

Still into rice production despite the minimal irrigation, Bien Unido has 3.5884 hectares now titled to 5 beneficiaries, while Clarin with Communal Irrigation Systems in place has 2,1292 hectares of its lands now titled to 4 farmer beneficiaries.

With the awarding of individual titles, expect more brisk farm activity in Bohol with 501 agrarian reform beneficiaries getting a lion’s share in the total of 544.0470 hectares, most of them productive farmlands. (RAHC/PIA7 Bohol)

Now that the farmer beneficiaries are given the formal titles of the lands they tilled as their own, they are entitled to more government support such as farm development financing, machinery support, and inputs. (RAHC/PIA7 Bohol)