In Bacolod City, the Department of Agrarian Reform in the Negros Island Region (DAR-NIR) is intensifying its efforts to roll out the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project. The initiative aims to increase the distribution of electronic land titles (e-titles) to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) throughout the year. As of the latest update, 116,000 hectares of land in the region have undergone field validation under Project SPLIT.
DAR-NIR Regional Director Lucrecia Taberna emphasized the focus on redocumenting collective certificate of land ownership awards (CCLOAs) in 2025, which will facilitate the registration and distribution of e-titles this year. The SPLIT Project involves breaking down collective land titles into individual titles for ARBs, thereby officially recognizing their land ownership rights.
Taberna called on all stakeholders and Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) implementing agencies to collaborate in this transformative effort for ARBs. In Negros Occidental, significant progress has been made with 2,038 e-titles distributed to 1,235 ARBs covering 1,368.8 hectares during President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s visit to Bago City last April. Additionally, in Cadiz City, 4,348 e-titles were issued to 2,220 ARBs covering 2,517 hectares in December.
Funded by the World Bank, Project SPLIT, which began in 2021 and was initially set to conclude in 2024, has now been extended until 2027. The project is poised to benefit over 1.14 million ARBs by providing them with individual titles to approximately 1.38 million hectares of agricultural land through the subdivision of CCLOAs.