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Written by Dong Calmada
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Thursday, 14 May 2009 |
 As has been their bid since the past weeks, around 400 farmers from various provinces yesterday trooped to the Senate yesterday to pressure the Senators during the third reading of the Senate Bill 2666, which seeks to extend the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) by five years, with amendments aimed at strengthening it. Accompanied by Bp. Teodoro Bacani, who is one of over 70 Bishops that have called on Congress to legislate CARPER (CARP extension with reforms), the farmers expressed alarm over the proposed amendments which would actually defeat the mandate of CARP. Three of these are: a) prioritization of provinces for land acquisition and distribution, which poses a threat of deprioritized provinces not being covered at all, b) reconsolidation of agricultural lands after the expiration of the 10-year moratorium on transfers of awarded land, and c) removing agrarian cases from the jurisdiction of the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) and putting these under the jurisdiction of the regular courts. |
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Written by Dong Calmada
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Wednesday, 06 May 2009 |
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On the first day of their new stint as legislators, four of the 32 new party-list representatives signed a joint manifesto declaring their being co-authors of the House Bill No. 04077, or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER) bill. These four new representatives are Walden Bello of Akbayan! Citizens' Action Party, Leonardo Q. Montemayor of Alyansang Bayanihan ng Magsasaka, Manggagawang Bukid at Mangingisda-Adhikain at Kilusan ng Ordinaryong Tao (Aba-Ako), Ariel Hernandez of Anak Mindanao, and Oscar D. Francisco of Alliance of Rural Concerns (ARC). Sworn in by House Speaker Prospero Nograles last May 5, all four, in their manifesto, recounted the ups and downs of the farmers' struggle to have CARPER bill passed. "We have...witnessed how Congress...succumbed to the whims and caprices of the landlord bloc and broke its promise last December 2008," the manifesto said. The party-list representatives continued to say: "With so liittle 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." "Time is running out on Congress. From today, we barely have fourteen more session days before the Congress' self-imposed deadline for enacting HB 4077. We cannot afford nor tolerate any more delays. We cannot afford any more broken promises." |
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Written by Dong Calmada
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Monday, 04 May 2009 |
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About 80 farmers came last April 28 and 29 all the way from the provinces of Pampanga, Tarlac, Bulacan, Pangasinan, Quezon, Mindoro Occidental, Masbate, Albay, Negros provinces, Iloilo, Leyte, Sarangani, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Sarangani to lobby Senators to remain true to their commitment for the extension with meaningful reforms of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). |
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