PDI Editorial: CARPER, Right or Wrong (081009)

Monday, August 10, 2009

Is the enactment of the law extending the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program—the CARPer, for CARP Extension with Reforms—a “death sentence” for the country’s millions of farmers? That’s what the militant left thinks. Anakpawis party-list Rep. Rafael Mariano reflected that point of view with the forceful statement he issued after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Republic Act 9700 into law last Friday. We think, however, that Mariano and other vocal critics are only half-right—and therefore entirely wrong in opposing the reform measure.

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PAKISAMA: CARPER is better CARP

Some say that CARPER is a worse CARP, other say it is just the same while those who fought for say it is better. You be the judge. Considering the context where Congress castrated CARP last December 2008, CARPER has restored Compulsory Acquisition with 150 Billion budget and 26 reform provisions.

Congress approved the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program extension with reform (CARPER) bill separately. The House of Representative’s version is HB 4077 and the Senate’s version is SB 2666. The Senate passed its version earlier which gave some pressure to the House to pass a better version. Although each version has its strengths and weaknesses, the Bicameral Committee Conference (BICAM) came out to be the best of both versions. Generally, the BICAM version of CARPER is better than the Senate or the House version and closely approximates the Civil Society CARPER proposal. Definitely, the BICAM version comes as a strengthened CARP to face to the challenge of fierce landlord resistance and bureaucratic inefficiencies. The passage of the CARPER law was fought by able Champions in the House through Rep. Risa and Rep. Lagman and in the Senate by Sen. Pimentel and Sen. Honasan and the countless farmers’ march, hunger strikes, fora and dialogues with the Church, Academe and Agrarian Reform Advocates.

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CARPER Principal Author Snobs Signing of Law

Friday, August 7, 2009

AKBAYAN Rep. Risa Hontiveros, one of the principal authors of the CARP Extension with Reform Bill, snubbed the signing of the measure in Plaridel, Bulacan today and challenged the GMA administration to distribute the Arroyo lands the moment the bill is enacted.

“What is so significant about today? This could have been signed more than a year ago had the administration exercised political will in pushing for the passage of the bill,” Rep. Hontiveros said.

“She should not claim that this is her legacy to the farmers. The bill was approved not because of Arroyo but despite the attempts of the Arroyos and their allies in the administration bloc to kill the bill,” she added.

“If it were not for the perseverance and persistence of the farmers this would not have been approved. The extended and reformed agrarian reform law is the legacy of the farmers to the Filipino people,” Rep. Hontiveros said.

She said that the sincerity of Arroyo would not be measured by the signing but by the immediate distribution of the Arroyo lands in Negros.

“We challenge her to order the distribution of the 1000-hectare properties of the Arroyos in Negros. The program has been resuscitated, it has been reformed, and the government has no excuses anymore,” she said.

“That will be the real barometer of her sincerity. She has to distribute the lands of her own family, and pave the way for the redistribution of more than 1 million hectares of private landholdings,” Rep. Hontiveros added.###

PGMA to Sign CARPER Bill in Bulacan

Thursday, August 6, 2009

PLARIDEL, Bulacan (PND)- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is scheduled to sign here tomorrow (Friday, Aug. 7) the consolidated version of the bill extending the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) by another five years.

The CARP Extension with Reforms (CARPER) Bill is the government’s reply to the pleas of farmers and workers n the agricultural sector for more time to fully implement the CARP, which expired June last year.

The signing, which will be held 10 a.m. at the Don Ceasario San Diego Gym, will see proponents from both the Senate  and the House of Representatives joining the President and Department of Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman, enact the bill into law.

CARP, the land redistribution scheme mandated by Republic Act No. 6657, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988, expired in December 2008. At that time, Congress adopted a joint resolution extending the CARP for six more months, or until June 2009, to allow the Department of Agrarian Reform to continue its mandated asks pending the enactment of a new law to extend the operation of the program.

Under the CARPER Bill, P100-billion has been allocated as outlay for land acquisition and distribution, support services, agrarian justice delivery, and other funding requirements during the extension period.

The bill likewise covers all public and private agricultural lands as provided in Proclamation 131 and Executive Order No. 29, including other lands of the public domain suitable for agriculture. The measure stipulates that prioritization of coverage is not necessary  and that after June 30, 2009, the modes of acquisition will be limited to voluntary offer to sell and compulsory acquisition.

The bill further provides for the creation of a joint congressional oversight committee to be composed of three members each from the Senate and the House.