Ilagan City, Isabela — July 31, 2025. The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) distributed
electronic land titles (e-titles) and Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (COCROM) to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) across Cagayan Valley in a region-wide ceremony at the Capital Arena, marking a major push to secure land tenure and erase decades-old farm debts.
DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III led the event, where 1,805 land titles—including individual e-titles under the World Bank-supported Project SPLIT—were awarded to 1,512 ARBs. Alongside the titles, 9,257 COCROMs were issued to 5,870 ARBs, formally condoning ₱260.17 million in unpaid amortizations and related charges tied to agrarian reform lands. The condonation covers 6,389.25 hectares across the region.
Estrella framed the distribution as part of the implementation of the Agrarian Emancipation Act (RA 11953), which wipes out principal loans, interests and penalties owed by ARBs for awarded lands. “This will provide significant relief and economic opportunity for farmer-beneficiaries as they would finally be free from decades of debts,” he said, addressing thousands of attendees from Isabela, Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino. Government media likewise highlighted the ongoing rollout of land titles and COCROMs as a flagship reform under the current administration.
Project SPLIT—Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling—aims to subdivide collective CLOAs into individual titles to strengthen tenure security and enable farmers to access credit and state support using clear, bankable documents. The initiative targets hundreds of thousands of e-titles nationwide this year, according to earlier government guidance.
World Bank senior land administration specialist Kathrine Kelm underscored how individual titles can spur investment and sustainable practices at the farm level, noting global evidence that secure land rights encourage long-term improvements and local development.
Beyond titles and condonation, DAR also launched the “Abogado ti Mannalon” (Lawyer of the Farmers) program during the Ilagan rites, in partnership with justice sector and legal aid groups, to expand free legal assistance for ARBs navigating agrarian cases.
The Ilagan distribution capped a week in which national and regional agencies reported thousands of titles issued and debts erased for farmers in Northern Luzon—an effort officials say will continue as DAR accelerates SPLIT and related land acquisition and distribution programs through 2025.
