House Deputy Speaker and Batangas 6th district Rep. Ralph Recto (Senate PRIB)


The Marcos administration's first social legislation that would free some 610,000 farmers from debts amounting to P57.5 billion might seem huge at first glance, but it really isn't, relatively speaking. According to House Deputy Speaker and Batangas 6th district Rep. Ralph Recto, the per hectare debt of farmers to be condoned by the anticipated law is lower than the per square meter (sqm) price of a condominium in Metro Manila. "We have bailed out banks and companies owned by billionaires. We have allowed power sector obligations to migrate as national debts. If we have pursued a debt forgiveness strategy for many troubled companies, why not one for poor farmers?" Recto asked. Recto said the bill “emancipating agrarian reform beneficiaries from financial burden by condoning all principal loans, unpaid amortizations and interests and exempting payment of estate tax on agricultural lands awarded under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP)” is up for President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.’s signature. The farmers' debts stemmed from the acquisition of agrarian reform lands with a combined area of more 1.17 million hectares. “This is emancipation of massive scale, from the number of beneficiaries, to the amount to be condoned. The impact will also be huge. It financially emancipates the farmers while freeing resources that can be used to achieve food security,” Recto said. While the P57.5 billion in loans up for write off may seem big, “but if you break it down per farmer, per hectare, it is small compared to other government spending," the former Senate President Pro Tempore said. “On a per hectare basis, the average debt to be forgiven is P49,000. That is a fraction of the current selling price of less than a square meter of a condominium in Metro Manila," he said. “Iyang P49,000 na yan para sa isang produktibong ektarya ng lupa na magpapakain ng maraming tao ay katumbas lang ng binibigay natin sa tatlong 4Ps beneficiaries sa isang taon (The P49,000 for a productive hectare of land that feeds a lot of people is equal to the amount we give to three 4Ps beneficiaries within a year),” Recto pointed out. On the other hand, every farmer who qualifies will get an average debt relief of P94,000, he said. “Ang halagang ‘yan, sa maraming state universities ngayon, ang siyang ginagastos natin para sa isang estudyante sa ilalim ng Free College Law (That amount is what we spend in many state universities for a student-beneficiary of the Free College Law),” he noted. Recto said if corporations and high-income individuals have gotten tax breaks from recent laws slashing income tax rates, “Then why should not farmers get the same reprieve involving far smaller amounts?” "We have forgiven bigger debts by a few in the past. This one, with a lesser amount, is owed by many," he said.