Pres. Marcos Jr., signs EO that covers land distributed under Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
(Eagle News) – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., declared a one-year moratorium on the payment of land amortization and interests that will benefit thousands of agrarian reform beneficiaries.
President Marcos Jr., signed the executive order declaring the moratorium on his birthday, Tuesday, September 13, 2022.
The Department of Agrarian Reform said that the measure is expected to benefit 654,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) .
The order will cover beneficiaries who are paying amortization and interest payments for agricultural lands distributed under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
The President said that the one-year moratorium on land amortization and interest payments would help unburden the ARBs from their debts. It would enable them to use the money instead in developing their farms, maximizing their capacity to produce and propel the growth of the economy.
-Freedom of farmers from debts-
DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III said the executive order on moratorium is in preparation for another fulfillment of the commitment of the President, which is for Congress to pass a law that will condone the loans of ARBs with unpaid amortization and interests.
“We always think about the farmers’ welfare. The one-year moratorium and condonation of farmers’ loan payment will lead to freedom of farmers from debts,” Estrella said.
-Amending CARP Law-
He expressed willingness to work and cooperate with the House of Representatives in the amendment of Section 26 of Republic Act 6657, or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988. This would give farmers a further breathing space from their loans.
The DAR chief led a delegation of 160 department officials, land reform beneficiaries, and advocates that witnessed the signing at the Heroes’ Hall inside Malacañang.
DAR said many agrarian reform beneficiaries and advocates had long been clamoring for the suspension of amortization payments and loan interests amid the many challenges that farmers face such as the pandemic, calamities, and rising cost of farm inputs.
In his first SONA, President Marcos Jr. had also urged Congress to pass a law that will lift the burden off agrarian reform beneficiaries who have loan dues so that they could concentrate on farm productivity, a top priority of his administration.
“The condonation of the existing agrarian reform loan will cover the amount of P58.125 billion benefiting around 654,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries and involving a total of 1.18 million hectares of awarded lands,” Marcos said during his SONA.
(Eagle News Service)