LUNA, Apayao – The Apayao office of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR-Apayao) condoned an initial list of 205.8174 hectares or about 216 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) under the Landbank of the Philippines classified lists.
The ARBs are those given intervention by DAR through awarded lands for agri-based and related enterprises.
These said individuals “shall be freed from debt through the activated Condonation Response Desk,” explained DAR-Apayao.
The condonation response desks are one-stop shops and assistance centers for ARBs to be able to secure their certificates of condonation which shall be annotated on their Emancipation Patent (EP) or CLOA award.
The emancipation program is pursuant to Republic Act No. 19953, or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, signed by the President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., wherein some P57.56 billion worth of debt of 610,054 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) cultivating a total of 1.173 million hectares of land shall be have no need to pay their dues.
This law provides the outright condonation or write off of all agrarian debts of ARBs whose names and details have already been transmitted to Congress during the deliberation of the emancipation bill.
“When the qualified ARBs in the condonation list are verified as to their names, address and status in relation to their awarded land, they will be issued by their CoCRoMs,” the agency stated.
As to date, 100 ARBs from 17 barangays in four municipalities have already been verified and validated.
The agency mentioned that the program aims to support ARBs to be debt free/mortgage free on their Certificate of Land Ownership Award and acknowledge them as a full-fledged ARBs. By J Dela Torre
