Davao de Oro: About 132 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB) in Davao de Oro have been granted debt relief amounting to PHP17.7 million by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

According to Philippines News Agency, the ARBs are members of the agrarian reform beneficiary organization (ARBO) Ricop Monkayo Farmworkers Agrarian Reform Cooperative (RIMFARCO) in Barangay Jaguimitan. RIMFARCO chair Danilo Gevero expressed his deep gratitude to the DAR and to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for the financial relief, stating that it was something they had long awaited and did not expect. He noted that the cooperative no longer needs to pay a large amount, preventing the depletion of its funds.

The debt relief was formalized through the distribution of the Certificate of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (CoCRoM), which covers 278.28 hectares of agricultural land, effectively freeing the cooperative from land amortization payments. Gevero emphasized that now, with the debt burden lifted, RIMFARCO can redirect its resources toward increasing productivity and enhancing agricultural development.

This initiative falls under Republic Act 11953, also known as the New Agrarian Emancipation Act (NAEA), which was signed into law by President Marcos on July 7, 2023. The law mandates the condonation of all unpaid principal amortizations, interest, and surcharges incurred by ARBs for agricultural lands awarded by DAR.

The DAR indicated that over 600,000 ARBs nationwide are expected to benefit from this landmark legislation, covering over 1.7 million hectares of agricultural land, under the leadership of Secretary Conrado Estrella III.