NEW CLARK CITY — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. distributed Certificates of Condonation and Release of Mortgage (CoCroM) to 3,500 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) here on Monday.

He was assisted by Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Conrado Estrella in the ceremonial awarding of 4,663 CoCroM to ARBs who farm over 4,132 hectares of agricultural land. 

Marcos expressed his gratitude to the ARBs and farmers for their part in ensuring the food security in the country.

He added that it is rightfully so to provide the necessary assistance to these farmers.

One of the assistances he cited is the Republic Act 11953, otherwise known as the New Agrarian Emancipation Act (NAEA).

RA 11953 is set to write off the amortizations of farmers on their lands that amount to around P124 million.

The republic act is in coordination with the DAR, Land Bank of the Philippines and local government agencies.

Secretary Estrella said that the distribution of CoCroM here marks the third milestone event for the ARBs of Central Luzon.

Prior to this, DAR distributed certificates of condonation to 1,000 ARBs in Bulacan and 6,000 ARBs in Nueva Ecija. 

Estrella said that the awarding of CoCrOM in the province conveys the government’s endeavor and commitment to improve the income and quality of life of farmers in the country. 

NAEA complements the government’s Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program by alleviating the debt, including unpaid amortizations, interests and surcharges, incurred by ARBs from the lands granted to them by the government. 

More than 600,000 Filipino farmers across the Philippines, covering more than 1.7 million hectares of land, are expected to benefit from this law.