Some 1,483 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Bulacan, Aurora and Bataan provinces were relieved of paying P57.798 million in debts related to agricultural lands granted to them through the agrarian reform program.
Senator Imee Marcos personally handed over to these ARBs a total of 1,792 Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (COCROMs) covering a total of 719.607 hectares of land during a ceremony on 24 November at the Victory Coliseum, San Rafael, Bulacan.
“The government is lifting the heavy burden of debts tied to your farmlands for years. Your amortizations, interest and surcharges are now erased,” Marcos said.
She acknowledged that ARBs have been struggling with agrarian reform-related debts for decades and encouraged them to seize this opportunity to improve their lives, while also reassuring them of continued government support.
Marcos reaffirmed her commitment to continue working and aiding the ARBs amid all the challenges they face.
This debt relief initiative is part of Republic Act 11953, or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, signed by the President last July 2023. The law mandates the condonation of all unpaid principal amortizations, interest, and surcharges on agricultural lands awarded under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
Ernesta Jocson, 60 years old, widow of Ricardo Jocson, and one of the COCROM recipients from Baler, Aurora, with CLOA-T-5996 covering 2.7 hectares, has been condoned of the debt to their land amounting to P203,839.49.
“I am very happy and grateful to our dear President. For a long time, we were not able to pay our debts to the LandBank due to lack of extra income. Now, I will not be worried about my debts anymore,” she said.
Marcos also distributed 57 Certificates of Land Ownership Award with an aggregate area of 40 hectares benefiting 49 ARBs and 128 electronic titles under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling Project comprising 100 ARBs from Bulacan and Bataan.
The event marks the fourth COCROM distribution in Central Luzon, following the previous distributions in Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Pampanga.