The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) is said to be the centerpiece government program that would pave the way for the country's aspiration for sustainable economic development and industrialization by infusing fresh capital, infrastructure, and lasting peace into agricultural areas. However, twenty years since its implementation, the program's mandate and objective were not yet fully fulfilled. Worst, CARP is now facing a June 2008 budgetary deadline.
Amidst this situation, there is an unabated phenomenon of application for exemption and land conversion. Based on the DAR data, in Mindanao alone, there is a total of 2 ,829.252 hectares being applied for exemption, from which 2,632.15 hectares (or 93%) have been approved. Also, 8,284.666 hectares (or 81%) hectares have been converted out of the 10, 172.206 hectares which were under application for conversion. These unabated cases of conversion have been highlighted by the Sumilao farmers from Bukidnon when they successfully embarked to walk on foot for 60 days from their homeland to Malacanang to ask the government to revoke the conversion order over the 144 hectares granted to them under the CARP, but was subsequently taken back from them when said property was erroneously converted from agricultural to agro-industrial.
Based on the DAR figures also, there are still 1,077,538 hectares of private agricultural land (PAL) and 581,813 hectares of public alienable and disposable land that have to be distributed after 2008. Agrarian reform cases are expected to reach to 132,620 after 2008. In Mindanao, there are 2,938 cases in the pending in judicial and quasi judicial tribunal.
Further there are 440,097 hectares of land in Mindanao that will be distributed if CARP will be extended after 2008. This agricultural land would benefit 293,398 farmers if each farmer will receive 1.5 hectares. This situation warrants a continuation of the implementation of CARP beyond 2008.
HB 1257 or the CARP Acceleration Bill seeks to speed up the implementation of the Land Acquisition and Distribution (LAD) component of the CARP within 7 years. This can be done by allocating enough resources for its implementation. The bill also requests for the government to automatically set aside 3.8 of the annual national budget for agrarian reform. Seventy percent of this allocation will be for the just compensation of landowners and the other 30% will be for credit assistance and support services.
Learning from the lessons from the past, the bill also introduces measures that would address the loopholes of the law. The bill seeks to among other a) strengthen credit and support service delivery, b) provide secure titles to agrarian reform beneficiaries, c) physical distribution and possession of land, and d) reorganization of the DAR for better performance and more farmer participation. The bill strengthens the policy frame that CARP is foremost a social justice program that seeks to remedy the unjust distribution of wealth.
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