Defend PUP’s forum exposes fake agrarian reform, calls for genuine change

BY NATHANIEL VIZCONDE

DEFEND PUP launched their fourth Human Rights Caravan session titled “Magtanim ay ‘Di Biro: A Forum on the Struggles of PH Peasantry towards Genuine Agrarian Reform” at PUP ITECH Audio Visual Room on May 03, 2023.

Then-Agrarian Reform Secretary and now-Anakbayan Partylist President Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano served as a resource speaker, highlighting the “fake” agrarian reform in the Philippines.

Mariano emphasized the loophole of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), which requires beneficiaries to pay annual amortization with 6% interest per annum for 30 years before gaining land ownership, noting that the government is like a “landlord in disguise,” treating farmers as peasants.

“Parang humalili lang ang gobyerno sa katayuan ng landlord ng dating may ari ng lupa na dating pumipiga sa anyo ng upa o buwis sa lupa. Ito namang gobyerno ngayon pumipiga ng mataas na amortisasyon sa lupa,” he said in his speech.

He also highlighted the definition of agrarian reform under Section 3 (a) of CARP, pointing out that the inclusion of the phrase “arrangements alternative to the physical redistribution of lands, such as production or profit-sharing, labor administration, and the distribution of shares of stocks” favors landlords by enabling them to retain control over their property instead of directly distributing land to the farmers.

“Basta sila mamahagi ng share of stocks, hindi na kailangan physical distribution of land,” he said.

Mariano also asserted that the CARP’s flaw could be circumvented by landlords to maintain their monopoly.

He stated that enacting the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB) would bring justice to the farmers by correcting CARP’s defects.

Unlike CARP, GARB proposes free land distribution to displaced farmers whose certificate of land ownership awards, land transfers, and emancipation patents were canceled.

However, despite its pro-farmer objectives, GARB has been lobbying in Congress for over 16 years without making significant progress.

If implemented, the government could reclaim private lands exceeding five hectares and distribute them to farmers free of charge. Lands proven to be ‘sullied holdings’ or acquired through deception, coercion, and violence, following the processes outlined by GARB, will be confiscated without compensation. Only those landlords who fear their properties would be ‘subjected to land acquisition distribution’ would hinder the bill’s implementation. Mariano stated that these landlords are dominating the Congress, having legal autonomy to obstruct the bill’s passage to serve their interests.

GARB ONTO NATIONAL INDUSTRIALIZATION

The implementation of GARB would not only lead to genuine agrarian reform but also national industrialization.

Agrarian reform under GARB could boost agricultural productivity, reducing dependency on imported materials and prioritizing the production of raw materials for various industries within the country.

It aims to promote “Filipinization” by transferring ownership of lands, buildings, factories, machinery, and other production facilities currently occupied by transnational corporations to the state. It intends to make these assets and properties Filipino-owned, granting the long-denied rights of the country’s farmers over their lands and resources.