SAN FERNANDO, La Union – Thousands of farmers from Regions 1 and 2 and the Cordillera Administrative Region trooped to the St. Louis College gymnasium here on Thursday afternoon to demand the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), which will expire on June 30.
The farmers urged lawmakers during the public hearing of the House committee on agrarian reform led by Rep. Edwin Uy to fast-track the passage of the CARP extension bill with reforms.
Party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo told The STAR that he is not only in favor of the CARP extension but is pushing for a total overhaul of its overall concept, saying it still contains provisions that are unconstitutional.
“The implementation of CARP for 20 years has failed with regards to the constitutional provision on social justice to break up the land of big landowners,” he said.
Ocampo proposed House Bill 3059, which he said institutes genuine agrarian reform and creates the mechanism for its implementation.
Modesto Bahul, chairman of the provincial agrarian reform committee in Ifugao, said they have sent a resolution to President Arroyo asking her to help extend the implementation of CARP.
“We already wrote the President to kindly help in the extension of CARP because there are so many proposed projects in our province, including land distribution and irrigation facilities,” Bahul said.
He said Ifugao is one of the depressed provinces in the country that need the implementation of CARP programs.
“Our province is one of the depressed areas and it is only in CARP that we are pinning our hopes on so that we could own lands to till. If this will not push through, what will happen to the proposed improvements and the distribution of land?” Bahul said.
The Pambansang Koalisyon ng mga Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK), composed of women farmers, also called for the extension of CARP because they also want to have land to cultivate.
“Like men, women also have the right to own land because we are also involved in farming. Women also till the land,” said Elvie Baladad, PKKK representative.
While some farmers are eagerly clamoring for CARP’s extension, some want it abolished and push for a total change in the distribution of land of big landowners.
Avelino Dacanay, chairman of the Ilocos Solidarity of Peasant Against Exploitation, an affiliate of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, told The STAR they are for the total abolition of CARP and support the genuine agrarian reform bill being pushed by Ocampo.
Aside from Ocampo and Uy, also present during the consultation were La Union Rep. Victor Ortega and Undersecretary Rosalina Bistoyong of the Department of Agrarian Reform.
Ortega said he will support the extension of CARP and advised DAR officials to implement it properly for the benefit of farmers and avoid favoring landowners.