Legarda sees PH, NDF signing peace deal … eventually

This file photo shows Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza (right), Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III (second from right) , shake hands with Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison (left) and Fidel Agcaoili (center) of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines after they sign an agreement in Rome, Italy. OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER ON THE PEACE PROCESS PHOTO

Senator Loren Legarda has expressed optimism that the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) would eventually forge an agreement since many of the latter’s proposals could be addressed already through existing laws and government programs.

“I welcome the agreements made during the fourth round of peace talks under the current administration. I am optimistic that the matters discussed and those in the NDFP’s social reform agenda would already be addressed as many of these are covered by current laws and funded in the national budget,” Legarda, chair of the Senate committee and finance, said in a statement on Wednesday.

“I am optimistic that with the sincere efforts of both parties to pursue just and lasting peace, we will see the creation and eventual implementation of a peace agreement between the government and the NDFP,” she said.

READ: Peace talks resume without truce deal

The senator pointed out that the 2017 national budget, and even last year’s appropriation, already included programs and provisions aimed towards rural industrialization and development as well as environmental protection, which form part of the NDFP’s social reform agenda.

And this early, Legarda vowed to work on a national budget for 2018 that would support and advance the gains of the peace process. “That is the least Congress can do,” she said.

The senator said this year’s budget has funding for rural industrialization and development, citing for instance the P3.9 billion budget for the Program Beneficiaries Development (PBD) Component of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), the P2 billion irrigation service fee subsidy and the P1 billion under the Small Business Corporation subsidy for microenterprises.

The 2017 budget, she said, also includes a provision, mandating the Department of Agriculture (DA) to increase the resilience of agricultural communities through the implementation of disaster-resilient agricultural infrastructure projects and the distribution and development of seeds, which are optimally adaptive to present and to future climate conditions.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), on the other hand, is mandated provide support to all Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) so they would be attuned to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, the senator said. The DAR, she said, should capacitate the ARCs in renewable energy and energy efficiency, ecological solid waste management (ESWM), and sustainable land use such organic farming approaches and the use of water catchments.

Legarda said the Agri Agra Reform Credit Act of 2009, which she co-authored, also requires all banking institutions to set aside 25% of their total loanable funds to agriculture and fisheries credit.

“Moreover, post-harvest facilities, irrigation, and farm-to-market roads are funded annually by the National Government through the DA,” she said.

On the issue of environmental protection, Legarda said the country has laws in place protecting the country’s natural resources, citing the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Environmental Awareness and Education Act, Renewable Energy Act, Climate Change Act and the People’s Survival Fund Law, and the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act.

The implementation of the said laws was already funded under this year’s budget, she said. The 2017 appropriations, she said, also contained various provisions aimed at biodiversity protection.

“All government agencies are mandated to ensure that the protection of biological diversity is integrated in their development programs and projects

“We also sought the support of state universities and colleges (SUCs) through area management and mapping and inventory of biodiversity,” said Legarda, also chair of the Senate committee on climate change.

“SUCs shall ensure the protection and enhancement of protected areas located within the vicinity of their campuses, while the DENR should involve SUCs in the National Greening Program through the establishment of clonal nurseries and conduct of forest research,” she added. CBB