Farmers: Agrarian reform remains unfinished

LUCENA CITY, QUEZON, Philippines — Thirty-eight years after the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp) took effect in June 1988, a national peasant group said the promise of comprehensive land reform remains largely unfulfilled for millions of Filipino farmers.

“After 38 years, the message from farmers remains clear: Agrarian reform is not yet finished. The promises of Carp must finally be completed, not merely commemorated,” the Kilusan para sa Repormang Agraryo at Katarungang Panlipunan (Katarungan) said in a statement sent to the Inquirer on June 13.

The roots of Carp trace back to July 22, 1987, when the late President Corazon Aquino issued Presidential Proclamation No. 131 and Executive Order No. 229, laying the groundwork for a comprehensive agrarian reform program.

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On June 10, 1988, Aquino signed Republic Act No. 6657, or CARP, aiming to promote a more equitable distribution of agricultural land to farmers and farmworkers. The program was later extended and strengthened through the Carp Extension with Reforms law, signed on Aug. 7, 2009, by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

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Katarungan said that while Carp has led to significant land redistribution, it has failed to fundamentally dismantle the concentration of land ownership in the hands of a few in many areas.

Unresolved claims

Across the country, farmers continue to face unresolved land claims, cancellations or reversals of previously awarded Certificates of Land Ownership Award, delays in land acquisition and distribution, land-use conversion, exemptions, retention claims, reclassification, corporate leasing schemes and other legal and administrative mechanisms that, according to the group, undermine agrarian reform goals.

The group also said that while some beneficiaries hold land titles, many cannot fully exercise control over their land due to a lack of installation. Others, meanwhile, continue tilling land without receiving titles.

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“In numerous communities, farmers remain vulnerable to harassment, intimidation, criminalization, eviction threats and costly legal battles as they defend lands they have occupied and cultivated for decades,” the group said.

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From June 8 to June 11, a coalition of 14 national farmers’ organizations and allied groups staged a protest camp outside the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) central office in Quezon City.

“The continuing need for farmers to travel to Manila, camp outside government offices and repeatedly seek dialogues after nearly four decades of Carp is itself evidence that agrarian reform remains unfinished,” said Danny Carranza, secretary general of Katarungan, in a phone interview.

Dialogues

Carranza said the coalition held dialogues with DAR officials on June 8 and June 9, but claimed that Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III did not personally meet with the farmers despite repeated requests. He added that the issues raised remained unresolved, with no clear commitments, timelines or concrete outcomes from the agency.

During the June 10 dialogue, Carranza said DAR Head Executive Assistant Atty. Nestor Ifurung Jr. proposed a new round of consultations to be held separately in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

Carranza also raised concerns over the lack of funding for just compensation for farmland.

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Activist priest Fr. Warren Puno, who joined the protest camp, called on the Church to support farmers’ struggle for land ownership. /cb