Dumaguete city: More than 4,200 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Negros Oriental are set to receive land titles and Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (COCROM) from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) during a mass distribution event scheduled for early July.

According to Philippines News Agency, Manuel Galon, the provincial agrarian reform program officer of DAR-Negros Oriental, announced that a total of 4,242 ARBs are slated to benefit from the distribution, which will take place at the Negros Oriental Convention Center in Dumaguete City. Of these beneficiaries, 350 recipients of land titles and 1,150 recipients of COCROMs are expected to attend the ceremonial turnover, while the rest will receive their documents through simultaneous releases on the same day.

Galon explained, "The number of beneficiaries invited to the distribution proper is limited because of space constraints at the venue." The event will include the distribution of Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) to 30 beneficiaries, covering 2.3965 hectares of land.

Additionally, the DAR will award 892 electronic land titles under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (Project SPLIT) to 526 ARBs, covering a total of 754.2212 hectares. Some beneficiaries will receive more than one title under Project SPLIT, a DAR initiative aimed at subdividing Collective Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CCLOAs) into individual land titles to enhance land tenure security among farmer-beneficiaries.

In parallel, the DAR will distribute 2,112 COCROMs covering 5,138.7 hectares of agricultural land to 3,686 ARBs. These certificates represent the condonation of over PHP412 million in unpaid land amortizations, interests, and penalties incurred by beneficiaries under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). A COCROM serves as official proof that the government has forgiven the outstanding financial obligations of qualified ARBs, enabling them to fully enjoy ownership rights over the agricultural lands awarded to them.

Moreover, the event will also see the handover of more than PHP 7.3 million worth of support services, including four tractors and one rice combined harvester, to beneficiaries.