Six new party-list representatives on Tuesday called on the House leadership to pass a bill seeking to extend the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), including its land acquisition component.

There are only 14 sessions days left before the Congress's self-imposed deadline for finalizing the CARP extension bill. Farmers have maintained their presence at the gates of the House of Representatives since the sessions resumed on April 13.

“Today, as one of our first acts as members of the House of Representatives, we will sign as co-author of House Bill 4077, the CARP Extension with Reforms bill.... We call on the House leadership to begin fulfilling its promises to the people, especially to the millions of farmers, and resume the deliberations on the CARP extension with reforms,” said the joint statement of Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello, ARC Rep. Oscar Francisco, ABA-Ako Rep. Leonardo Montemayor, Amin Rep. Ariel Hernandez, Coop Natco Rep. Cresente Paez, and Abakada Rep. Jonathan dela Cruz.

“Time is running out on Congress. From today, we barely have 14 more session days before Congress' self-imposed deadline for enacting HB 4077. We cannot afford nor tolerate any more delays. We cannot afford anymore broken promises,” they said.

The CARP, which expired in December 2008, was extended by Congress—through a joint resolution--until June 30. However, only voluntary land transfers—not compulsory acquisition of private lands—are allowed during the six-month extension.

It was a move that disappointed farmer groups and their influential supporter, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo and several bishops had joined farmers on a hunger strike for CARP extension last year.

Prioritize CARP

The solons said the lower House should focus on the CARP extension bill instead of spending “precious time” discussing House Speaker Prospero Nograles' resolution seeking to change the 1987 charter and scrap its economic protectionist provisions such as lifting the ban on foreign ownership of land. 

“As newly-proclaimed party-list representatives, we will not be able to serve our full terms. With so little time remaining in our hands, we want to spend whatever precious time we have as members of the 14th Congress by pushing for the most critical pieces of reform legislation,” the statement also said. 

According to a report by the House committee on agrarian reform, panels from both chambers of Congress—the Senate and the House of Representatives—have met with the CBCP at least three times since March.

These meetings are supposedly meant to make way for the two chambers to produce a common version of the CARP Law that will be passed before session adjourns on June 6.

Resolved issues

According to the report, among the issues the panels have resolved are the following:

• landowners' compensation need not be included in general legislation since this can be addressed by administrative action;
• revise the provision pertaining to gender-responsive support services;
• Technical Working Group to increase the funding allocation for CARP to P147 billion if the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is able to substantiate the need for such amount.

The DAR was requested to provide the House committee on agrarian reform the exact amount earmarked for the payment of land owners, and to identify the lands which have been distributed but not yet paid or not yet documented.

The Presidential Commission on Good Governance was also asked to submit to the committee the receivables of the Agrarian Reform Fund (ARF) to ensure that funds would be enough to finance the five-year extension of the program.