As Marcos Jr came to power, he ensured the promotion of neoliberal policies in the Philippines at the behest of imperialist US. Regarding land, the Marcos II regime fully implemented the Support to Parcelization of Land for Individual Titling (SPLIT) funded by the World Bank. His regime used the SPLIT program to deceive farmers and seize their lands. Due to this, it is easy to transfer land ownership from farmers to land-lords and big comprador bourgeoisie.
In 2020, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) started the implementation of the SPLIT program. It was funded through a loan from the World Bank in the amount of ₱20.4 billion. The SPLIT program aims to fully eradicate the Collective Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CCLOA) held by agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) towards individual ownership. DAR also promised that through individualizing land titles, ARBs will have more security to own land and improve their farm work.
DAR targets to individualize 139,000 CCLOAs from 2020 to 2024 and plans to extend this in the next two years. This covers 1.4 million hectares of land with 1.1 million ARBs in 77 provinces. Thirteen percent of these are also in Western Visayas.
On Negros Island, DAR is in the process of validating CCLOAs of ARBs and after this, the CCLOAs will be divided. DAR has set-up an office to ensure the implementation of SPLIT.
But for Tatay Kulas, an ARB from Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, he was dismayed with DAR’s SPLIT project. “Those in power made laws and programs without taking into account our genuine problems. The SPLIT project cannot be a solution to our suffering now that fertilizer and pesticides are very expensive, our products are bought cheap and there is insufficient El Niño subsidy,” Tatay Kulas said.
The declaration of the Municipal Agrarian Reform Officer of DAR that if she does not agree to participate in SPLIT, her name will no longer be included in the awarding of individual titles also created fear for Nanay Letty from Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.
Nanay Letty added, “SPLIT will destroy the unity of peasant organizations. If titles are individualized, it will not be difficult for the ruling classes and landlords to trick the ARBs into selling or leasing (ariendo) their lands.”
Delia, from the aforementioned city, is also worried that when she takes a loan from the bank using her individual land title as collateral, it will be easy for banks to seize her land if she is unable to pay her debt. This will add to her problem especially since she has school children and farming is their source of livelihood.
Manong Fausto is also unhappy with the SPLIT program because he and their community became victims of threats and harassment by the military to force them to participate in this project. According to him, “DAR personnel did not visit us. The military itself was used to coerce us to accept SPLIT.”
For them who are ARBs and other peasants, it is not the SPLIT program that can effectively help them but the free distribution of land and comprehensive agricultural support.
NegrosRevPortal 