MANILA, Philippines -- A congressional oversight body has ordered a study to draw up an immediate plan of action on how to continue the comprehensive agrarian reform program (CARP) that will expire in June.
The Congressional Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization (COCAFAM) has delegated six members to spearhead the study that would, among other things, look for possible additional funding for CARP.
Senator Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture, heads the sub-committee that would submit its study on May 1. Other members are Senators Gregorio Honasan and Juan Miguel Zubiri; Palawan Representative Abraham Mitra, Sorsogon Representative Salvador Escudero III and Nueva Ecija Representative Rodolfo Antonino.
The oversight committee has tapped members of the academe from the University of Asia and the Pacific and the University of Philippines-Los Banos, as well as of research institutions such as the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture to provide technical support to the sub-committee.
"Since it will expire by June, I have commissioned a special committee under COCAFM to come up with an independent study that will provide a clearer perspective on the different scenarios that may take place in extending CARP, its funding as well as key legislative actions we must urgently make," Angara said.
The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law or Republic Act 6657 passed in 1988 served as the centerpiece program of the Aquino administration.
The landmark legislation allowed landless farmers and farm workers to own directly or collectively the lands they till, or to receive a share of the fruits of the land.
The law, which was already extended by 10 years, is to expire on June 10, 2008.
Several lawmakers and local government officials, and lately even the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, have called for extending CARP and making it more responsive to the needs of rural farmers.
According to the Department of Agrarian Reform, about seven million hectares of agricultural lands have been distributed to over four million farmers.
DAR said over a million hectares of private land have yet to be distributed to two million beneficiaries.
Angara said more support should be given to CARP beneficiaries.
"It's not a surprise that CARP beneficiaries have sold off their land or have not made a good living out of the land that was awarded them because the support given to them is minimal," he said.
The senator said several studies have established that CARP has alleviated poverty and promoted peace in the countryside in the areas where the program was successfully implemented.
"I believe that agriculture is the best and most cost-effective weapon against poverty. We must therefore work towards putting an aggressive program to attain further development especially in the rural and agricultural areas of our country," Angara said.
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