President Marcos signed an executive order (EO) imposing a year-long moratorium on payments on the annual amortization and interest payments of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) for agricultural lands distributed under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said.
The order seeks to relieve the ARBs of their debts, allowing them to use the money to develop their farms, maximizing their capacity to produce and propelling the economy's growth.
According to Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III, the EO is in preparation for “another fulfillment” of the chief executive’s commitment, which is for Congress to pass legislation that will forgive ARB loans with unpaid amortization and interest.
“We always think about the farmers’ welfare. The one-year moratorium and condonation of farmers’ loan payment will lead to freedom of farmers from debts,” he said in a statement.
He expressed his willingness to work with the House of Representatives to amend Section 26 of Republic Act 6657, also known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988.
In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), Marcos said: “The condonation of the existing agrarian reform loan will cover the amount of P58.125 billion benefiting around 654,000 ARBs and involving a total of 1.18 million hectares of awarded lands.”
Section 26 of Republic Act 6657 requires ARBs who have been awarded lands to pay the Land Bank of the Philippines in 30 annual amortizations at a rate of six percent per year.
Marcos said the proposed law would forgive ARB loans with unpaid amortization and interest and erase the outstanding debts of farmers who benefit from agrarian reform.
“ARBs who are still to receive their awarded lands under the CARP shall receive it without obligation to pay any amortization," said the President.
Marcos also heads the Department of Agriculture in a concurrent capacity.