THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) continues to issue condonation as mandated by Republic Act 11953 or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act.
A report by the Philippine Information Agency indicates that the DAR has condoned a total of P57.76 billion in farmers’ debt since the law was enacted.
RA 11953 provides condonation of unpaid principal loans, amortizations, interest, and penalties for over 610,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) nationwide and exempts them from estate taxes.
‘That law is good because the principal, interest, and penalties on their obligation to pay to the Land Bank of the Philippines have been condoned. That means it has been erased. They no longer have any obligation to pay,’ Bureau of Agrarian Legal Assistance Director Eugene Follante was quoted as saying.
‘Because of that, they now have 100 percent ownership of the land we gave to our beneficiaries,’ he added.
Meanwhile, Follante said DAR is also accelerating the issuance of individual electronic titles, or e-Titles, to agrarian reform beneficiaries.
‘As of January to June, our actual accomplishment consists of 19,967 land titles, e-titles covering 19,006 hectares, benefiting 10,522 agrarian reform beneficiaries,’ Follante said.
For agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) to get maximum benefit from DAR programs and projects, they need to be members of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries’ Organizations (Arbos), farmers’ cooperatives or irrigators’ associations.
Chief Agrarian Reform Program Officer Sol Peralta said that the agency is organizing ARBs into registered organizations and cooperatives so they can better access support for production, processing, and marketing.
The DAR reported that it has completed 537 farm-to-market roads (FMR) nationwide from July 2022 to July 2026.
A total of 89 FMR projects are currently in various stages of development.
To boost farmers’ productivity and income, the DAR said it is looking at forging new ties with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), and the Cooperative Development Authority (CDC).
The DBP partnership will enhance training and credit programs while the PCA partnership will align coconut farmers with various programs of DAR. Lastly, the partnership with CDA will help boost applications of various ARBOs to form a duly-registered cooperative.
In a statement, the highlighted its priority programs and commitments to protect the rights, strengthen the livelihoods, and improve the lives of ARBs.
DAR officials, led by Undersecretary Rowena Niña O. Taduran of the Special Concerns and External Affairs and Communications Operations Office (SC-EACOO), shared updates on key agrarian reform concerns, including land distribution, debt condonation for farmers, land reform cases, land conversion, parcelization, landowner compensation, and the protection of awarded agricultural lands.
The discussion emphasized that DAR’s work does not end with the distribution of land. The Department continues to provide ARBs with legal assistance, agricultural mechanization, modern technologies, infrastructure, market access, and other support services to help them make their land more productive and build more sustainable livelihoods.
Particular attention was given to strengthening Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBOs), improving farmers’ access to markets and value chains, and developing farm-to-market roads that connect farming communities to markets and economic opportunities.
Taduran underscored the central role of farmers in the country’s food security, saying, ‘If you ate today, thank a farmer.’ She stressed that DAR seeks to empower ARBs not only to remain productive farmers, but also to become agricultural entrepreneurs capable of creating sustainable income and opportunities for their families and communities.
The Department also reaffirmed its commitment to resolving pending agrarian reform cases, protecting awarded lands from illegal occupation and unauthorized use, and ensuring the timely delivery of services and benefits that ARBs rightfully deserve.
Moving forward, DAR will continue to pursue agrarian reform that goes beyond land ownership-toward productive farms, stronger farmer organizations, sustainable livelihoods, and a better quality of life for Filipino farmers.
Guided by Secretary Conrado M. Estrella III’s directive to ‘put the welfare of our farmers first,’ DAR remains committed to making agrarian reform a pathway to greater productivity, economic security, and a more prosperous future for ARBs and their families.