Solons, various groups hail New Agrarian Emancipation law

(KARLSTON LAPNITEN/FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — Opposition, progressive and pro-administration groups and lawmakers have lauded the signing of the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, as it provides a big relief for agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) with outstanding debt for the land they tilled.

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) on Friday that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s enactment of Republic Act No.11593 or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act is a testament to the fact that land ownership for farmers is only just.

Marcos earlier signed the consolidated bill from Congress, which would write off the P57.55 billion debt of over 610,000 farmers.

“Farmers groups have long pushed for a measure that would condone unpaid land amortization in favor of free land distribution. Dapat isantabi na ang mga utang ng mga magsasaka sa banko, at hindi ito dapat maging balakid sa tuluyang pamamahagi at pag-aari ng lupa ng mga magsasaka,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes said.

 (The government should really set aside the farmers’ debts with banks, and this should not be a hindrance to the eventual distribution of land and the farmers’ ownership of it.)

Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas said the enactment of the law is welcome since it has been proven that agrarian reform beneficiaries cannot pay the total value of the land with money — aside from the fact that prices of materials needed for farming are increasing.

“Malaking problema rin sa mga magsasaka ang patuloy na pagtaas ng agricultural production costs bunga ng nagtataasang presyo ng langis at fertilizer. Ang presyo ng pataba ay tumaas ng P1,343 hanggang P2,144 at aabot na ngayon mula P2,243 hanggang P3,094 per bag,” she explained.

(The continuous increase in agricultural production costs, like fuel and fertilizer prices, is also a big problem for farmers.  Fertilizer prices have increased by P1,343 up to P2,144, and may reach prices of P2,243 up to P3,094 per bag.)

Meanwhile, the peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said they hoped agrarian reform beneficiaries would benefit from the law. 

However, KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos highlighted that there is still a need to pass a new and genuine agrarian reform program to ensure that free land distribution for farmers becomes a national policy.

Administration ally and Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda said that Marcos’ decision to sign the law also means looking after the future of the country’s agriculture sector — and not merely correcting past mistakes.

Salceda believes the new law would remove a huge burden from the shoulders of the country’s next generation of farmers.

“Good policy does not only seek to correct the mistakes of the past […] Great policy also looks to the future. It creates a better future. That is what this reform does, by including an estate tax exemption that will allow old farmers to transfer their land to a new generation,” Salceda said.

 “One of the reasons productivity from agrarian lands has stagnated is because they cannot be transferred to the younger generation of farmers because of debts and the attached liens. And because of the estate tax,” he added.

Salceda previously said that the New Agrarian Emancipation Act will be considered the best law Congress produced.

 gsg/abc