Farmers group says CARP headed for collapse

ANGELES CITY — The Pambansang Katipunan ng Makabayang Magbubukid (PKMM) warned yesterday that the passage of Senate bill No. 2553, which allows beneficiaries of the government’s land reform program to use their farmlands as collateral for loans, would finally lead to the "total collapse" of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

PKMM national chairperson Pablo Rosales said the bill would not "boost the productivity of CARP beneficiaries" despite the claim of its authors.

Senate Bill No. 2553, sponsored by Senators Sergio Osmeña, Ralph Recto, and Juan Flavier, was drafted to end the woes of CARP beneficiaries who do not have access to credit because of lack of collateral.

Rosales pointed out further that the bill, titled "An act amending certain sections of Republic Act 6657" or the CARP law, also proposes the "lifting of land retention limits for landowners; the sale, transfer of ownership or conveyance of awarded agrarian reform lands; mortgaging or sale of cultivation rights to any persons, and; disposition or sale of private agricultural lands retained by landowners."

"The government which is unable to provide credit access (to agrarian reform beneficiaries) is now encouraging farmers to pawn their lands. Surely, the government is conscious of the dangers of exposing the poor farmers’ lands to confiscation by private lenders and banks," Rosales said.