We, concerned Filipinos along with members of the international community, express our unrest over the present state and future of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Extended and reformed through the passage of Republic Act 9700 in 2009 (the CARPER Act), the nationwide land reform effort is again mired in a deep uncertainty that strikes at the heart and soul of the entire program.

Based on R.A. 9700, CARP is mandated to be completed by June 30, 2014. Yet according the Department of Agrarian Reform’s (DAR) latest statistics[1], over 206,000 hectares of lands are still to be issued Notices-of-Coverage (NOC’s)— the crucial document that will allow redistribution efforts to continue proceeding after the June 30 deadline in lands where the process of acquisition has been started.

We further recall that in his 2012 State of the Nation Address, President Aquino affirmed: “Before I step down, all the lands covered by CARP will have been distributed.” However, based on DAR’s figures, more than 800,000 hectares of land still have to be granted Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs). For DAR to award CLOA’s to these lands by 2016 will be an impossible task, given that the present DAR has consistently failed to meet all its annual redistribution targets since 2010.

A failure to effectively complete and implement CARP will adversely affect up to 1.1 Filipino families, while rendering even more small farmers vulnerable to ongoing reversals of land reform[2]. There is no doubt that this will severely impair efforts to address the age-old scourges of rural poverty and inequality in the Philippines.

In solidarity with the hopes of farmers across the country to finally own the land that they till, and driven by our common interest of promoting national food security and inclusive development in the countryside, we urge the President Aquino and other agencies of the Philippine government to adopt the following measures supporting the completion and effective implementation of CARP: 

1. PROVIDE ADDITIONAL TIME FOR THE ISSUANCE OF NOC’s:

Despite the measures already taken by DAR to expedite the issuance of NOC’s before June 30, 2014, it is imperative that additional time be furnished beyond this deadline to provide for any shortfalls and delays, which is already happening.

2. ENSURE TRANSPARENCY IN DAR WHILE AUDITING CARP’s PERFORMANCE:

Given the uncertainty currently surrounding the status of CARP, DAR must immediately make accessible its data relating to land distribution (ex. DAR’s master list of CARP-covered landholdings, location of targeted lands, DAR’s budget expenditures for LAD, breakdown of the DAR balance in the processing and issuance of NOC’s, etc.).

Parallel to this is a need to create an independent commission to audit the claimed accomplishments of CARP. Among other purposes, the commission will review lands that avoided or circumvented the agrarian reform program.

3. RESOLVE CRITICAL LAND DISPUTE CASES:

Since 2010, DAR’s handling of critical land cases brought has been marked with sluggishness and over-cautiousness. It is high time that agency officers collaborate with farmers’ groups to ensure that these cases are decisively resolved before the June 30, 2014 deadline.

Cases brought to DAR’s attention by peasant organizations include but are not limited to those in:

Brgy. Esteves in Casiguran, Aurora,

Brgy. Sumalo in Hermosa, Bataan,

Henessy Corporation in Batangas,

Bitoon and Bitanagan Estates in Davao Oriental,

Marsman Estate in Davao Norte,

200 haciendas covering 13,000 hectares in Negros Occidental,

Bugsuk-Pandanan Islands in Palawan

4. STOP ILLEGAL LAND CONVERSIONS:

Incidents of illegal land use conversions of irrigated lands have been reported to DAR, yet DAR’s responses have been marked by inaction. As the agency with the sole authority to approve land use conversions, it is DAR’s responsibility is to issue cease-and-desist orders or prosecute offending parties.

Illegal conversion cases brought to DAR’s attention include but are not limited to those in:

Brgy. Esteves in Casiguran, Aurora, by the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone

Brgy. Culianin in Plaridel, Bulacan, by Lumina Homes and Vista Land Properties

Sitio Poocan in Semirara Island, Antique, by the Semirara Mining Corporation

5. INVESTIGATE HR VIOLATIONS:

Farmer-advocates are alarmed by reported increases in human rights violations, including killings and forcible evictions. At present, there is thus an urgent need for the government to support a comprehensive national inquiry on human rights violations and alleged land-grabbing cases now taking place in rural communities.

Decisive action to ensure the success of CARP and the defense of small farmers’ rights will be especially timely, given that 2014 has been declared the International Year of Family Farming by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

We look to President Aquino and our government leaders to champion the cause of our small and land farmers this year— upholding the 1987 Philippine Constitution’s historic promises of land-to-the-tiller and social justice

For the right to land of Filipino farmers:

 

[1] Data on issued NOC’s as reported by DAR Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes during a Congressional Hearing on Agrarian Reform last February 5, 2014

[2] Data from Focus on the Global South-Philippines (2013): “The State of Agrarian Reform Under President Benigno Aquino III’s Government”