BACOLOD CITY – President Arroyo remained firm in her decision to extend the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) after it ends in 2008, despite the clamor of various sectors here to abolish the land distribution program.
The President met with various government and private sector representatives last Friday where she expressed her plan to extend the land reform program but she urged Congress to set when and how the extended CARP can be implemented.
Mrs. Arroyo’s brother-in-law Rep. Ignacio Arroyo (fifth district, Negros Occidental) said that if Congress approves the extension, the program will cover other agricultural lands such as ricefields and might spare sugar plantations after various studies showed that a huge capital requirement was needed to sustain the productivity of sugarcane plantations.
Negros Occidental has the largest area for land reform coverage and has proven to be a major headache for the Department of Agrarian Reform.
Rep. Jose Carlos Lacson (third district, Negros Occidental) opposed the plan to extend CARP until it can be proven that the program is indeed a success.
Lacson said he believes most of the agrarian beneficiaries are simply beneficiaries in name but they no longer work on the land that was awarded to them.
He has been opposing the law since it was first presented to Congress because he believes it only gives false hope to farmers.
Lacson cited initial findings from the study being conducted by the provincial government where some farmers got at least 10 Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) each. The same study showed discrepancies in the list of beneficiaries that are suspected to be unqualified.
He added that he has yet to see majority of farmer-beneficiaries claim they have alleviated their quality of life because of the agrarian reform program.
“The law is flawed from the very start and I need a good reason to even consider changing my position against it,” he said.
Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon’s call for a review and audit of the program has gained the support of local government officials in the province.
Meanwhile, Presidential Adviser Rafael Coscolluela said he will recommend a review of the proposal for CARP implementation in Negros Occidental before the Cabinet cluster tasked by the President to look into the problem of CARP in the province.
Coscolluela said he believes there is a need to clarify a working relationship between DAR and the local government units since the basic rule is proper coordination and seeking the assistance of local officials to prevent the outbreak of violence.
He clarified that the recommendation will only pertain to the implementation of the program in Negros Occidental where local chief executives have been complaining against DAR for its failure to consult them, which has caused violence in some areas, particularly at Hacienda Velez-Malaga in La Castellana town.