President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signs an executive order extending the moratorium of farmers’ payments of their land debts at the Department of Agrarian Reform in Quezon City, Tuesday, September 12, 2023. | PHOTO: PCO
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday extended the moratorium on farmers’ payments of amortizations on agrarian debt by two years.
Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB) are now allowed for land payments until September 13, 2025. Marcos extended Executive Order (EO) No. 04 in the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) meeting in Quezon City.
“I have also signed just now Executive Order for the two-year extension of EO No. 4, s. 2023, dahil mayroong mga ibang beneficiary ay hindi na-cover-an nung pagpasok ng IRR (Implementing Rules and Regulations) at saka ng moratorium na ginawa natin sa original na EO. Kaya’t sila naman ay – sila ay qualified sa ilalim ng pagpatuloy ng moratorium ng EO No. 4,” said Marcos in his speech.
(I have also just signed the Executive Order for the two-year extension of EO No. 4, s. 2022 because there are beneficiaries that were not covered by the IRR and moratorium in the original EO. That is why they will be qualified with the continuation of EO No. 4.)
“This provides for the moratorium on the payment of the principal obligation and interest on amortization payable by the agrarian reform beneficiary, to include even those who were not covered by the New Emancipation Law.” he added.
Marcos had signed the original moratorium, EO No. 04, on September 13, 2022. The Order froze the amortization and interest payments of ARBs for one year.
“The agrarian debt moratorium extension stands to benefit, as of September 2023, some 129,059 beneficiaries tilling 158,209.94 hectares of land whose land awards did not reach the cut-off period of July 24, 2023, provided in RA No. 11953 to qualify them for condonation of their agrarian debt under the said law,” said the DAR in a statement.
RA No. 11953 is the New Agrarian Emancipation Act of 2023, which Marcos signed on July 7. The law forgave the land debt of around 610,000 ARBs.
DAR officials also presented this law’s IRR to Marcos in the same ceremony.
Other officials in attendance included Sen. Cynthia Villar, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, DAR Chief Conrado Estrella Jr., Sen. Imee Marcos and more.