AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee (Rep. Lee's office)


A pro-farmer congressman has allayed fears from the civil society organizations (CSOs) that agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) whose debts were condoned under the newly-signed New Agrarian Emancipation Act might all end up selling their lands. AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee expressed confidence that such a scenario won't happen for as long as farmers get the proper support that they need from the government. "Nais kong klaruhin na ang layunin ng batas na ito ay bigyan ng sapat na suporta ang ating mga magsasaka para ang pagsasaka ay maging kumikitang kabuhayan para sa kanila, nang sa gayon ay hindi sila mamuhay na isang kahig, isang tuka,” said Lee, a principal author of the New Agrarian Emancipation Act in the House of Representatives. (I would like to clarify that the purpose of this law is to give ample support to our farmers in order to boost their livelihood and keep them from being mired in poverty.) Lee was reacting to fears expressed by CSOs that the more than half a million beneficiaries of the new law would sell the land they have been tilling for decades after they acquire the titles and once the 10-year prohibition of selling the land is over. Signed by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. last Friday, Republic Act (RA) No. 11953 condones an estimated ₱57.56 billion in unpaid amortization amounts, interest payments, surcharges, and penalties of existing loans of some 610,054 ARBs secured under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). “Kapag na-implement nang maayos ang ating mga batas, hindi mangyayari ang mga kinatatakutan ng ating civil society partners (If laws will be implemented properly, then our civil society partners have nothing to fear)," said Lee, a neophyte solon in the 19th Congress. "Good laws are only good or beneficial when they are properly implemented so this is what we must ensure—that the spirit of the law is what is being implemented,” the Bicolano noted. “If our farmers are made to realize that farming is a profitable enterprise and they can make a decent living out of farming, then they would not be tempted to sell off the land that have been given to them. That is why aside from condonation, the New Agrarian Emancipation Act also provides that ARBs who have completed payment of their amortizations shall be given preference to credit facilities and support services," he added. Lee said extending adequate support to farmers is vital as the country’s growing population requires the government to amp up agriculture productivity to ensure food security. “Kapag hindi natin masuportahan nang maayos ang ating mga magsasaka, ang ending natin ay mapililitan tayo na mag-import ng mga produkto mula sa ibang bansa (If we fail to support our farmers properly then we'll be forced to import products from other countries)," he said.