TACLOBAN CITY — The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) distributed 15,382 individual land titles covering 36,622 hectares of agricultural land to farmers across Eastern Visayas.

DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III led the distribution of certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs) at the Leyte Convention Complex in Palo, Leyte, on Tuesday, 22 September.

DAR regional director Robert Anthony Yu said 16,217 agrarian reform beneficiaries from Leyte, Southern Leyte, Samar, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar and Biliran received land titles during the hybrid distribution program.

Beneficiaries from Leyte and Southern Leyte personally received their titles, while those from the other provinces participated online.

Yu said the distribution is part of the World Bank-funded Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project, a flagship DAR program that subdivides collective land titles into individual titles for agrarian reform beneficiaries.

The project, which runs until 2027, aims to subdivide around 1.38 million hectares of agricultural land covered by collective CLOAs.

By providing farmers with individual titles to the specific parcels they cultivate, the program seeks to establish clearly defined ownership and encourage beneficiaries to fully utilize and make long-term improvements to their land.

During his visit to the region, Estrella also led the turnover of two rehabilitated rural infrastructure projects and P3.6 million worth of farm machinery and equipment to selected agrarian reform beneficiary organizations.