In a significant move to support agrarian reform, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in North Cotabato handed out Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (COCROM) to 40 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Barangay Kibudoc, Matalam, on Tuesday. This distribution is part of the ongoing efforts under the New Agrarian Emancipation Act of 2023, aimed at accelerating the release of such certificates.
Evangeline Bueno, the provincial agrarian reform program officer, highlighted the importance of this initiative, stating that it represents a vital step towards empowering ARBs. She expressed her delight in seeing the beneficiaries, especially those she had closely worked with in developing the agrarian reform community (ARC), receive their certificates.
Donald Perocho, the municipal agrarian reform program officer, explained that the COCROMs would lead to the cancellation of liens and encumbrances by the Registry of Deeds, benefiting the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) for lands distributed under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). He reminded the ARBs of their responsibility to continue paying local taxes, contributing to national development.
Lorde Magoncia, one of the recipients and a prominent figure in the local community as the owner of Deo’s Organic Farm and Nursery and a leader of the Kibudoc Multipurpose Cooperative, expressed her gratitude for the program. In a radio interview, she described the certificate as a promising start to the year for her and her fellow ARBs.
An agrarian reform community (ARC) is defined as a barangay or a cluster of barangays within a municipality where a substantial portion of lands covered by CARP has been awarded to a significant number of ARBs.