Business group asks Catholic Church to clarify stand on CARP

The Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI), one of the leading business groups in the country, has asked the Catholic church to clarify its position on the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Act (CARP) because it has given conflicting views on the matter.

In a statement, FPI president Jesus L. Arranza said the Church fought the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) when it placed Church-owned 268-hectare farmlands in Camarines Sur under coverage of CARP.

However, it is supporting farmers in the battle against food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp. for the ownership of the 144-hectare land in Sumilao Bukidnon.

Arranza said the church is sending out two conflicting signals — one, that landowners have also rights to seek immunity for their property from CARP like it tried to do for its Camarines Sur farmlands, and two, that landowners should give away their lands petitioned for by farmers in the spirit of charity. 

Arranza said the fact that the Church fought DAR in a 21-year battle that reached all the way up to the Supreme Court to thwart DAR’s intentions on its property, indicates that the Church is not 100-percent sold to the concept of unrestricted takeover by government of privately owned lands for distribution to landless farmers.

“On the other hand, this stance of the Church collides gravely with the current high-profile stand of leading churchmen who are exerting excessive pressure on SMFI (San Miguel Food Inc.) to part with the land where it is building a state-of-the-art agro-industrial complex and give it through CARP to 55 farmers in Sumilao, Bukidnon,” he said.

“The Church should make its position clear, is it for breaking up big landholdings and parceling them out to landless farmers, or is it not?  If it is, it can show its sincerity by making public an inventory of its big landholdings that can be subject to CARP.  This is only a humble suggestion aimed at no other purpose than to serve the spirit of transparency, and to quiet public misgivings about the Church’s big lands,” Arranza said.   

Earlier, FPI urged President Arroyo to reconsider her decision to revert the classification of the Sumilao land to agricultural from agro-industrial because the change might send a wrong message to potential investors.

“At the end of the day a re-visit of the Presidential decision plus a round of non-confrontational talks between San Miguel Foods Inc. and the farmers which FPI sincerely urges may produce a compromise beneficial to all,” Arranza explained

According to him, re-classifying the land might discourage businessmen from investing in the rural areas.

“The decision effectively imperils the vision of San Miguel which is sinking P2.4 billion in the land to develop it into a modern, high-tech agro-industrial estate,” Arranza said.

Despite this, Arranza said FPI, an organization San Miguel belong to, respects the decision of Mrs. Arroyo.

“While we respect the judgment call of the President, we cannot help but feel some regrets that the vision of San Miguel to bring the blessings of modern technology and massive investments to the people of Sumilao and for that matter to whole province of Bukidnon might no longer happen,” Arranza explained.

On Dec. 18, the President issued an executive order reverting the land in Sumilao back to agricultural.