A total of 37,889 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in the Davao Region were cleared from their unpaid obligations as of January 2023 after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed the New Agrarian Emancipation Act on July 7, 2023.
The new emancipation act or Republic Act 11953, will condone the amortization of principal payments, interest, and penalties on land tilled by farmers.
Joseph Orilla, regional director of the Department of Agrarian Reform 11 (DAR 11), said on Wednesday that the said obligations have a total amount of P2,177,165,373.77.
“Mao ni siya nga utang na singlon, tagaan ug surcharges and interest, mawala na. Dako ni ug impact sa farmers na dili na sila muadto sa Landbank para magbayad. Dako ni siya ug impact kay instead na mao to ilang ibayad sa Landbank, ang ilahang buhaton na lang kay himoong produktibo ang ilahang yuta. Wala na sila’y utang,” Orilla said in a press conference on Wednesday at DAR regional office in Tugbok, Davao City.
Under RA 11953, the government will also assume the obligation to pay the remaining balance of the direct compensation of the 35,612 ARBs in the Davao Region due to the concerned landowners under the Voluntary Land Transfer (VLT) or Direct Payment Scheme (DPS).
“Dili lang sa regular namo nga pag acquire, naa pud katong ginatawag nato ug voluntary land transfer (VLT) ug direct payment scheme. Mao ni katong mga plantation ug daghan ni siya didto sa Davao del Norte,” he said.
He added that the condonation frees of the awarded lands from all mortgage liens in favor of the government and exempts ARBs from payment of estate tax.
Orilla also said a total of 29,063 ARBs, who have fully paid their agrarian amortization amounting to P987,948,658.23, will be given priority access to credit facilities and support services and shall be automatically included in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBA) of the Department of Agriculture (DA), thereby entitling them to all support services given to farmers by DA and other government agencies.
“Dako ni siya nga kadaugan sa atong mga farmers in Davao Region kay mao ni ang dugay na nilang gipangandoy,” Orilla said.
