DAR hands out land titles to 39 farmers

CEBU - After many years of waiting, 39 farmers in Minglanilla town were finally granted with emancipation patents, which will prove that they are now the rightful owners of their lots.

A total of 57 lot titles including farm lots and home lots covering almost 2,000 square meters were distributed to farmer beneficiaries in five barangays of Minglanilla by the Department of Agrarian Reform 7-Cebu Provincial Agrarian Reform Office yesterday.

Beneficiaries came from Barangays Pakigne, Calajo-an, Tungkil, Tulay and Tungkop.

An emancipation patent or the certificate of land ownership is the title of the land issued to a tenant upon compliance with all other government requirements for them to rightfully own the land they tilled for years. It represents the tiller’s absolute ownership of the land.

The new lot title holders have been fighting to get the land for almost 30 years already said Varenia Fabillar, DAR OIC chief of Program and Beneficiaries Development Cebu.

Fabillar said the farmers have been in protest for 30 years because the owner of the land they’ve been tilling for so long refused to include its land in the coverage of Presidential Decree 27 or the first Land Reform Law implemented by the then President Ferdinand Marcos, and due to some technical problems.

But recently, the Supreme Court has decided in favor of the farmers.

With the decision, the agricultural lands that the rice and corn farmers used to till were covered under PD 27 Operation Land Transfer.

During the distribution yesterday, DAR 7 Regional Director Rodolfo T. Inson reminded the farmers of their responsibilities as new owners of the land.

Inson outlined the prohibitions of selling the lot and mortgaging the land under the reform law.

He also reminded them to not forget their responsibilities in paying the amortization fee in the Land Bank of the Philippines monthly.

Inson advised the farmers to follow the rules of the law and take care of what was awarded to them because they are granted with a cheap land worth of only P700 per hectare.

He assured DAR would continue to serve the people especially the landless farmers because he believes the lands belong to the Cebuanos and not the foreigners.

Inson hoped that efforts of the DAR would bear fruits for the farmers’ families and the country as a whole. — Jessica Ann Pareja/WAB (THE FREEMAN)