The agrarian reform program in the country will continue to oppose the conversion of agricultural lands even with the government's move to condone unpaid agrarian debt.
Agrarian Undersecretary Luis Pangulayan said the agrarian reform mandate is to monitor arable tracts of land in the country, and prevent these from being converted into other purposes other than agriculture.
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. recently signed the New Agrarian Emancipation Act that condones P57.56 billion of unpaid principal debt to benefit 610,054 agrarian reform beneficiaries tilling 1.173 million hectares of land.
"Ang pinag-uusapan po natin dito ay mga lupang susceptible to agricultural development. Marami pong challenges diyan, sa ibang banda nandyan iyong mga lupang ancestral domain, ancestral land… nandyan iyong mga forest land, timberland, mineral parks na nasa DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) na bago gamitin through patents (We are talking about lands susceptible to agricultural development. There are many challenges there, on the other hand, there are ancestral domain, ancestral land, forest land, timberland, mineral parks of the DENR)," Pangulayan said in a media forum in Quezon City on Saturday, July 8.
"Pero iyong binabanggit nating arable lands na dapat tamnan, tatamnan natin iyan – iyon ang babantayan natin against conversion (But we are talking about the arable lands for planting, lands we will protect against conversion),” Pangulayan added.
The official said DAR will continue with the agrarian reform program which is mandated under the 1987 Constitution.
He explained that under Republic Act 6657 or an Act Instituting a Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), Congress will continue to allocate funds to agrarian reform-implementing agencies.
“Hangga’t nandiyan ang agrarian reform mandate sa agrarian justice delivery, land tenure improvement and support services–ito pong mga concerns na ito ang maipagpapatuloy, hindi po kailangang ipatid iyan kahit nabigay na po ang lupa, ang kahuli-hulihang lupa sa ARB (As long as the agrarian reform mandate on agrarian justice delivery, land tenure improvement and support services, these concerns will continue, this will not stop even after giving the last land to the last agrarian reform beneficiary),” Pangulayan said.
The official reiterated that like the goal of the President, who also serves as Agriculture chief, DAR aims to push for the economic empowerment of farmers through agricultural productivity, profitability and rural development.