The Department of Agrarian Reform launched the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling Project (SPLIT) in October 2020, which will grant individual titles to collective CLOA holders as mandated under CARP within three years. But land rights groups, like ORKALEFF and KAISAHAN, caution DAR to first ensure that ARBs are not vulnerable to pawning or selling their land and are capable to make their land productive. In Leyte, SPLIT targets 3,000 collective CLOAs awarded to farmers now in their 60s or mid-50s or deceased. Some may be unable to farm but with heirs who can continue farming their land. It is crucial that these ARBs retain land ownership, especially now with the economic pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic. How will the SPLIT project involve these ageing farmers and their heirs’ given COVID-19 restrictions for senior citizens and mass gatherings? ORKALEFF and KAISAHAN targets to influence DAR to ensure that ageing ARB members and their heirs are qualified to benefit from the SPLIT project are not disenfranchised, and understand the repercussions of individual titling under SPLIT on their land rights. Specifically, it targets the following: 1. Local and national criteria and processes for the validation and prioritization of beneficiaries under the SPLIT project are influenced in favor of the qualified ageing ARBs and youth heirs. 2. Ageing ORKALEFF members and youth heirs are not disenfranchised or forced into parcelization by the SPLIT processes. 3. Clearer policies on ARB succession in collective EPs/CLOAs and policy or government directives on the provision of support services to ARB SPLIT beneficiaries are issued. The project will focus on ORKALEFF members in Ormoc City and Kananga and KAISAHAN partner ARB organizations in municipalities of Capoocan and Alangalang in Leyte. Other key actors are DAR, concerned agencies and CSO advocates.

From land tenants to land owners providing for their families and influencing governance policies 

Land ownership remains a problem in Leyte. Before the intervention of ORKALEFF, the lives of the target beneficiaries were hard. They were not able to access a total control of the farmlands that were awarded to them by government. Some had to pay for rentals to the previous owners for cultivating the land that was supposed to be theirs. Some experienced threats from landlords that strongly resisted awarding their land to the ARBs. Furthermore, it was always hard for the ARBs to ask for help from concerned agencies because the decisions were always not in their favor, more so the ageing farmers 

Following successfully lobbying and advocacy, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) launched the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling Project (SPLIT) in October 2020 to grant individual titles to collective Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) holders as mandated under Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) within 3 years. However, concern remains about the risk of Agrarian Reforms Beneficiaries (ARBs) vulnerability to pawning and selling their land and their inability to make the land productive. This is because they are in their 50s or mid 60s or deceased and as such some may not be able to farm but with their heirs who can continue farming their land. As a result, there is the possibility of them and their heirs being disenfranchised and left out of the SPLIT project. As such there is need to ensure they remain qualified to benefit and that they understand the repercussions of individual titling under SPLIT on their land rights 

To achieve this, ORKALEFF carried out trainings, dialogues and negotiation activities on land ownership rights and processes as well as land production practices. At the same time, the paralegals started to build their self-confidence on how to lobby and negotiate their demands from the DAR authorities as ORKALEFF developed a social relationship with the different agencies. This resulted in establishment of a good rapport with the DAR, local government units, the Philippines National Police and other partners and organizations and support groups by following the official processes and the rule of law. Through these paralegal trainings and community orientations, they learnt their rights and responsibilities as ARBs 

“We are most proud of the installation of the 107 agrarian reform beneficiaries into their awarded lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), the titles of which were given 20 years ago. Now as ageing or senior farmers, they are finally able to plan for their farm development as landowners. Six ARB organisations were involved in the project whose members actively participated in conducting meetings, planning, follow-ups with government agencies for their required legal documents and scheduling of their installations. Also, the ORKALEFF leaders now took the lead in preparing their member organizations for the installation activities.” 

This led to 107 right holders becoming fully fledged land owners under the CARP after most of them waiting for more than 2 decades. They peacefully settled on their farm plots and started production. To ensure continued production of the land, ORKALEFF supported them with farm inputs and capacity strengthening workshops allowing the farmers to grow crops based on their own farm plans. The new farmers moved from sugar or rice mono cropping to inter cropping. 

Over time, there was diversification crops from crops to vegetables and livestock that has augmented their income after only one harvest based on the current accounts. Consequently, some were able to support their family needs while others were able to support their children’s online learnings or even send their children to college because of the income they got from their harvests. This has a led to a change and improvement in the lives of the farmers, economically and politically as they are able to have enough food for their need and at the same time also able to influence local government units and other key decision makers for the general welfare of all members of their community. A new challenge presents itself on how to sustain their farm productivity and ensuring protection of tenure of their awarded land. With the emergence of the COVID 19, rightsholders confidence and commitment to end their landlessness became even stronger