Tuesday, July 7, 2009 [ sunstar.com.ph ]
SOME P150-billion fund will be poured in by the government for the five-year extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp) the moment President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signs the extension of the law by August.
“We are looking forward for the President to sign the five-year extension order for the Carp,” Gloria Cañonero, Department of Agrarian Reform-Negros Occidental provincial office public information officer, said.
She added “the extension would mean a P150-billion fund for its total mobilization all throughout the five years extension coverage.”
The extension would also benefit agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) as the planned 60% of the total fund would be allocated as support services to the ARBs in Negros Occidental and around the country.
“This would be of a very big help for the ARBs to till and support the lands that had been and would be distributed to them to make the lands productive,” Cañonero said.
She said that although it’s not confirmed yet, DAR head office hinted that Arroyo would sign into law the five-year extension package next month after her State of the Nation Address (Sona) scheduled on July 27.
Carp extension is expected to run until June 30, 2014.
Some of the salient features of the Carp extension include land distribution of up to a maximum of three hectares each to qualified beneficiaries.
The government is also set to provide credit and initial capitalization subsidy for new and existing ARBs.
The extension would likewise remove the exemption of aqua-culture from agrarian reform.
ARBS will no longer be sued for squatting under the Carp extension law, it added.
The government is also set to create a joint congressional oversight committee to monitor the nationwide coverage and implementation of the Carp extension.
Meanwhile, priorities on land acquisition and distribution has been cited and divided in three phases.
Phase 1 is set to be completed by December 31, 2010. It covers all private agricultural lands of landowners with aggregate landholdings in excess of 50 hectares, which have already been subjected to a notice of coverage (NOC) issued on or before December 10, 2008. It also includes all foreclosed lands by government financial institutions and all lands acquired by the Presidential Commission on Good Governments.
Phase 2, which is also set to be completed by December 31, 2010, would include lands 24 hectares up to 50 of all alienable and disposable public agricultural lands, agro forest, pasture, agricultural forest already cultivated and planted to crops.
Phase 3, meanwhile, involves all other private agricultural lands commencing with large landholdings and proceeding to medium and small landholdings under several schedules. Said phase is set to be completed by January 1, 2011.
Meanwhile, Cañonero said that the distribution of the allocated support services for ARBs would be sent directly to all ARB cooperatives and organizations to ensure the rightful and well-monitored distribution of the funds.
She also warned ARBs not to sell the lands that had been distributed to them or else, they might be tagged as Carp violators and likely denied all support services from the government.
Cañonero lamented that ‘unauthorized selling of lands by ARBs’ had been the biggest problem of the government since Carp was implemented. (Jerson O. Coronica)
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