A TOTAL of 237 Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) were conferred on Monday to the beneficiaries under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp) in Siasi, Sulu.
Anihilda Sangcopan, secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm), led the turnover of the CLOA who are members of the Tulling Agrarian Reform Community (ARC).
The CLOA is a legal document that serves as an evidence of ownership, subject to restrictions, and secures the tenure of the farmers to the agricultural land they till.
Among its basic restriction is that the beneficiary could not sell, transfer, or donate the land awarded to them over a period of 10 years after they received the certificate.
The CLOA is intended to promote social justice among the marginalized, specifically workers in the agricultural sector, through land tenure as provided for under Republic Act 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law.
Sangcopan said the land area covered by Tulling ARC used to be owned by Filagro Corp. before it was covered by Carp in 1991.
The farm workers then were considered as agricultural laborers who do not have the rights over the land they till.
The Tulling ARC is situated in the northern part of the island municipality of Siasi, Sulu. (Sunnex)
