
INAPRUBAHAN ng Senado sa ikatlo at huling pagbasa ang panukalang batas na nagsusulong sa pagbasura ng mga pagkakautang ng mga magsasakang benepisyaryo sa ilalim ng Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) ng gobyerno.
Ayon kay Sen Cynthia Villar na tumatayong chairperson ng Senate Committee on Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, hindi na kailangan pang byaran ng mga CARP beneficiaries ang balanse sa lupang ipinagkaloob ng gobyerno – sa sandaling tuluyang maging batas ang Senate Bill 1850.
“Many farmers who were beneficiaries of the agrarian reform program have been waiting for their titles but they have been saddled by issues on how to pay their loans’ annual amortization, interests, including penalties and surcharges, which hinder their full ownership over their land. Without land in their name, these farmers cannot access credit as they lack collateral to secure the same,” ani Villar.
Kapag naisabatas, mawawala ang ₱57.5 billion principal ng 610,054 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB) na nagtatanim sa 1,173,101.57 ektarya ng agrarian reform lands.
Mawawala na rin ang principal loan na ₱14.5 billion ng 263,622 ARBs sa 409,206.91 ektarya ng lupaing pasok sa kategorya ng lupang agraryo.
Naisumite na rin ng Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) sa Kongreso ang pangalan at iba pang detalye ng mga pagkakautang ng mga benepisyaryo.
“This bill seeks to help alleviate the plight of ARBs, who are farmers; for them to recover and overcome the fallout of the COVID-19 crisis, the devastating African swine fever, the ongoing avian influenza, the increasing cost of fertilizer, fuel, and other farm inputs, and climate change.”
“Condoning farmers’ amortization will provide them much-needed financial resources that shall help them develop their farms, increase their productivity, and advance an agriculture-driven economy, improve the lives and that of their families, reduce poverty, accelerate rural development and promote food security,” aniya pa.
Bilang co-sponsor ng bill, nanindigan si Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva na ang paglaya ng mga ARBs mula sa kanilang utang ay ang angkop na tugon ng pamahalaan sa kinasadlakan dusa ng mga magsasaka.
“The passage of the bill shows how the Senate recognizes the urgency of addressing the concerns of the agriculture sector,” ani Villanueva.
“It is our hope that this important measure will help end the cyclical and generational poverty among our ARBs. The condonation of a total of P57.557 billion principal debt of 610,054 ARBs tilling a total of 1.17 million hectares shall emancipate them from debt burden and shall help them refocus their resources and energies instead to increasing their productivity and improving their lives,” dagdag pa niya.