Vol. XXI, No. 207 [ Business World Online ]
Thursday, May 22, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
THE SENATE agrarian reform committee yesterday proposed a five-year extension of the 20-year old Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) which will expire on June 10.
Senator Gregorio B. Honasan II, committee chairman, told BusinessWorld after a public hearing that the extension of the program should improve the track record of the government in implementing reforms in the agricultural sector.
About P130 billion has been spent for the program, he noted.
A budget of P147 billion was proposed to implement CARP until 2013. The budget will be used for the purchase and distribution of land and support services.
Sources of funding include proceeds of the sales of the defunct Asset Privatization Trust (now the Privatization Management Office), receipts from assets recovered and sales of ill-gotten wealth recovered by the Presidential Commission on Good Government, and proceeds from the disposition of the properties of the government abroad.
Funding for support services should be at least 40%, from 25% previously of the CARP budget as well as other sources such as foreign assistance.
Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser C. Pangandaman said lands acquired have so far amounted to 7.1 million hectares and around 1.1 million hectares still have to be distributed to around 700,000 beneficiaries if the extension is implemented.
But some senators are not keen on the program’s extension.
"A program that has no longer been effective should not be extended. If those who will be covered by the program are small land owners, that would be injustice. The targets originally were landed estates, not the small ones," Senator Joker P. Arroyo said.
Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri told reporters that unless the government addresses "loop-holes," he would not support the CARP extension.
Senator Juan Ponce Enrile said that while Congress will adjourn on June 11, the bill should not be rushed. — Bernard U. Allauigan
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