In what the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is calling the country’s largest mass distribution of electronic land titles so far this year, more than 6,400 e-Titles were handed over to 5,800 agrarian reform beneficiaries from across Western Visayas—marking a major push to complete long-delayed land ownership under the Marcos administration.

The distribution, held in Pototan, Iloilo, was led by Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III, who said the rollout is part of the government’s target to fully complete agrarian reform by 2028, decades after the program was first launched.

DAR data show the titles cover over 13,500 hectares of agricultural land, with Capiz receiving the highest number at 2,248 e-Titles, followed by Iloilo (1,849), Antique (1,108), Guimaras (804), and Aklan (463).

Estrella said the issuance was carried out under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project, which breaks up collective land ownership and grants individual titles—a shift the agency claims will finally resolve disputes, improve access to credit, and strengthen long-term land tenure for farmers.

“This is about ending uncertainty for farmers who have tilled the land for years without full ownership,” Estrella said, adding that secure titles are expected to increase productivity, stabilize incomes, and contribute to national food security.

The distribution went beyond land titles. DAR also issued Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (COCROM), wiping out unpaid land amortizations that have burdened beneficiaries for decades. In Guimaras alone, the government condoned more than Php87.5 million in agrarian debt, following the release of over 1,800 COCROMs to more than 1,700 beneficiaries.

Estrella said the debt write-off was enabled by Republic Act No. 11953, or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act of 2023, signed into law by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., arguing that land ownership without debt relief fails to deliver genuine agrarian justice.

“Land reform is incomplete if farmers remain trapped in debt. This law frees them to invest, produce, and finally improve their quality of life,” he said.

Also present during the event were Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr., Third District Representative Lorenz Defensor, and senior DAR officials, who described the distribution as a key milestone in the government’s agrarian reform and social justice agenda.IMT