Ninety-two farmers received land titles and took their oath as agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) in southern Negros, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Negros Occidental 2 said in a report yesterday.

In Moises Padilla, certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) were distributed on Thursday, July 18, to 37 farmer-beneficiaries in Barangay Quintin Remo.

They obtained titles to the agricultural properties previously owned by Josefa Villaruel, Basilisa Mudanza, and Rosemarie Isidro-Alvarez, with an area of 4.38 hectares, 15.98 hectares and 11.23 hectares, respectively.

Agrarian reform program technologists assisted during the distribution held at Barangay Quintin Remo.

The 37 ARBs were the latest CLOA recipients in southern Negros after the DAR also distributed land titles for 398.1384 hectares of agricultural lands to 422 ARBs from January to middle of May this year.

Meanwhile, 55 farmer-beneficiaries took their oath to become ARBs before Presiding Judge Joseph Gedeoni Valencia of the Municipal Trial Court in the neighboring La Castellana on Thursday.

Before the oath-taking, they signed the application to purchase and farmer’s undertaking after passing the screening process.

They are qualified to share 56.84 hectares of landholdings owned by Mercedes Montilla, Arturo Jimenez, and Cesar Tan, all in Barangays Quintin Remo, Odiong, and Montilla in Moises Padilla.

Under the land acquisition and distribution process of the CARP Extension with Reforms, public and private agricultural landholdings are acquired by the government to be distributed to tenants, farmers, farmworkers, and/or other tillers qualified to become ARBs. (PNA)