President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. declared that he will impose a one-year moratorium on the payment and interest of land amortization to help agrarian reform beneficiaries in the country.
"I intend to issue an executive order to impose a one-year moratorium on the payment of land amortization and interest payments," Marcos said in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 25.
The President said a moratorium will allow farmers "to channel their resources in developing their farms, maximizing their capacity to produce, and propel the growth of our economy."
He said this move is also backed by civil society organizations as it is seen to unburden the farmers of their dues and be able to focus on improving farm productivity.
Under his administration, Marcos said the agrarian reform program must continue as he stressed that "agrarian reform is not only about acquisition, but also about support services and distribution."
The Chief Executive also encouraged the Congress to pass a law that will emancipate the agrarian reform beneficiaries from the agrarian reform debt burden, thereby amending Section 26 of Republic Act 6657.
"In this law, the loans of agrarian reform beneficiaries with unpaid amortization and interest shall be condoned," Marcos said.
"Agrarian reform beneficiaries who are still to receive their awarded land under the comprehensive agrarian reform program shall receive it without any obligation to pay any amortization," he added.
The President further said that the condonation of the existing agrarian reform loan will cover the amount of P58.125 billion, benefiting 654,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries and involving a total of 1.18 million hectares of awarded lands.
At present, a total of 52,000 hectares of unused agricultural lands of the government shall now be used for distribution to landless war veterans, landless surviving spouse and orphans of war veterans, and landless retirees of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police.
Agricultural lands acquired under this program will be given to graduates of college degrees in agriculture who are landless, Marcos added.
"The call of the times is for the infusion of fresh and new blood in the agricultural sector. We need a new breed of farmers equipped with modern agricultural technology able to engage in sustained scientific farming that will not only increase farm yields, but also resilience in the face of climate change," Marcos said.