Arroyo approves P50-billion Agri-Agra bond flotation

President Arroyo has approved the flotation of P50-billion Agri-Agra bonds to finance the implementation this year of her administration’s agricultural modernization and land reform programs.

Mrs. Arroyo announced that she has authorized Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo and Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho to undertake the bond flotation to raise money for the programs, the implementation of which is mandated by law.

The President made the announcement in yesterday’s luncheon rites marking the 13th anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARP).

She disclosed that she signed the authorization document for Romulo and Camacho to have "full powers" to undertake the bond flotation, during Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting at Malacañang.

"We have an Agri-Agra Law which mandates that we put funds for agriculture and agrarian reform," the President said.

Under the Agri-Agra Law, she said banks are required to set aside a certain portion of their loanable funds for agriculture or agrarian reform projects, but provided that they can opt to buy instead government bonds or Treasury bills as collateral.

"So my financial managers told me that if we really have our priority for agricultural modernization founded on social equity, then let us apply (the bonds) also to agriculture and agrarian reform," the President said.

To make the most out of scarce government resources, the President said her administration intends to effectively and efficiently gather funds for both the CARL and the Agriculture and Fishery Modernization Act (AFMA) and implement them together.

Under AFMA, she said P20 billion was supposed to be raised to implement it, P6 billion of which must go to irrigation projects.

The President said the agrarian reform program will provide the social equity of her administration’s AFMA implementation.

"Let us finally redeem the promise of land reform made over many presidents. Let us win this battle and let’s make sure, within a decade, we can complete it," she said.

The President noted with concern the status report submitted by Agrarian Reform Secretary Hernani Braganza that one million hectares of private lands and another one million hectares of public lands targeted for land reform have not been redistributed as required under CARL.

The President attributed this to, among other factors, the lack of funds to pay landowners who give up certain portions of their land to the agrarian reform program.

This year, she said, the Department of Agrarian Reform is targeting the redistribution of 100,000 hectares of public lands and another 100,000 hectares of private lands to farmer-beneficiaries.