ILOILO CITY – The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) recently distributed P4.24-million worth of farmlands to 77 farmer beneficiaries in Iloilo province.
Director Leomides Villareal, chief of DAR’s Public Assistance and Media Relations Service (PAMRS), noted that the Duterte administration is expediting distribution of free farmlands to qualified beneficiaries.
In the case of the 77 Ilonggo farmer beneficiaries, it took almost 20 years for the issuance of the Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs).
Among those were two widowed mothers who received CLOAs on behalf of their husbands who died before physically seeing their families being able to till their rightfully owned lands.
Rosena Malco, a 74-year-old widow whose husband died in 1999, expressed joy that her family’s struggles paid off.
According to DAR-6 Assistant Regional Director Florentino Siladan, the distribution of CLOAs covered a total area of 70.8090 hectares.
DAR Iloilo Provincial Director Sally Ortega said farmer beneficiaries are from the towns of Dingle, Dueñas, Lambunao, Pototan, San Dionisio, and the component city of Passi.