29 bishops lauded over request for CARP extension

MANILA, Philippines – Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra, chairman of the House committee on agriculture, commended yesterday the 29 Catholic bishops who urged Congress to extend the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) law that would help solve the looming rice shortage.

He said the statement of the influential Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, including Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, would expedite the process.

Rosales, Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, and the other bishops wanted the approval by June 10 of the measure pending in Congress that seeks to extend the CARP law for another 20 years. The bill is pending in the House agrarian reform committee.

“I am one of the principal authors and I am very happy with the support of the bishops. The support will surely help fast-track the approval of pending measures to extend CARP,” Mitra said of his bill, which seeks to extend CARP until 2015.

The administration lawmaker said it is very important that Congress extends the CARP law so that more land will be distributed to the poor.

“Let’s pull all our coordinated acts together to ensure the extension of CARP for a few more years.”

The 29 bishops urged Apayao Rep. Elias Bulut, chairman of the House committee on agrarian reform, to pass as soon as possible the “reformed” CARP.

“We are writing to manifest our appeal to the honorable members of Congress, the urgency of passing a bill to extend CARP and institute progressive reforms that would truly benefit our poor farmers who remain landless,” the CBCP stated in its letter.