‘PelikulAgraryo 2025’ student filmmakers were given an exclusive opportunity to experience the day-to-day operations of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), encouraging future generations to go beyond observing government work and to gain a deeper appreciation of the responsibilities that come with serving the people.
DAR Secretary Conrado M. Estrella III, together with several officials, welcomed the young filmmakers to the DAR Central Office on July 13, for the immersion and learning activity.
‘You are not here just to observe. I want you to see how the government truly works and, hopefully, learn lessons that cannot always be taught inside the classroom,’ Estrella said.
While leading the participants to his office, Estrella guided the students through the Department’s staircase gallery, where he recounted the history of DAR and the enduring legacy of his grandfather, the late Agrarian Reform Minister Conrado F. Estrella, Sr., who served as the country’s first agrarian reform minister. He likewise toured the students inside the historic Minister’s Room, where significant decisions that shaped the country’s agrarian reform program were once made.
The participants were also introduced to the DAR’s officials, who discussed several flagship initiatives being implemented under the leadership of Secretary Estrella, including the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project, Value Chain Innovation for Sustainable Transformation in Agrarian Reform Communities (VISTA) Project, and infrastructure initiatives, including Pang-Agraryong Tulay para sa Bagong Bayanihan ng mga Magsasaka (PBBM) Bridge and Farm-to-Market Roads, which improve mobility, reduce transportation costs, and connect farming communities to trading centers and essential services.
The discussions, likewise, highlighted the Department’s continuing modernization efforts through the provision of support services including farm machinery and equipment, the conduct of activities like Agraryo Trade Fair that helps farmers market their products, scholarship opportunities for qualified students, and the establishment of the Agrarian Reform Training Institute which aims to equip farmers and stakeholders with the knowledge and skills needed for sustainable agricultural development.
Officials also explained the implementation of Republic Act No. 11953, or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, through the issuance of Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (COCROMs), which condone the unpaid land amortization of qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries and release their lands from government mortgage, empowering them to improve productivity and maximize the economic potential of their farms.
Estrella recounted how President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s concern for the welfare of farmers paved the way for the enactment of R.A. 11953. He shared that after realizing the hardships faced by agrarian reform beneficiaries due to the pandemic, global conflicts, climate change, and other economic pressures, the President, with the support of Congress, championed the passage of the law to condone their unpaid land amortization.