title: New Agrarian Emancipation Act
text: # New Agrarian Emancipation Act
  
  The New Agrarian Emancipation Act, officially designated as Republic Act No. 11953, is a bill passed by the 19th Congress of the Philippines and signed by President Bongbong Marcos on July 7, 2023. The law frees more than 600,000 farmers from debt. The Act complements the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, which condones farmers with awarded lands from amortizations (managed by Land Bank of the Philippines), including interest and surcharges. About 610,054 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) tilling 1,173,101.575 hectares (2,898,797.12 acres) of land are seen to benefit from this law. The Philippine government will pay the remaining balance of the direct compensation due the landowners under the Voluntary Land Transfer (VLT) or the Direct Payment Scheme (DPS) amounting to ₱206.2 million. The law covers ₱57.56 billion in agrarian arrears.
  
  