MANILA – Sinabi ni Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Bernie F. Cruz na hindi na kailangang amyendahan ang Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL).
“The agrarian reform program is not about consolidating lands. The program awards individual land titles to beneficiaries to give them the freedom of managing it themselves and to create more opportunities for them,” wika ni Cruz sa isang pahayag noong Martes.
Ipinahayag ito ni Cruz matapos isulong ni George Barcelon, presidente ng Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), ang mga pag-amyenda sa CARL na kinabibilangan ng pagpapagaan ng mga patakaran sa pagsasama-sama ng lupa at pagmamay-ari upang lumikha ng mga pagkakataon para sa mas mahusay na produktibidad ng agrikultura sa pamamagitan ng pagsasaka ng mas malalaking mga lupain.
Sinabi ni Cruz na ang agrarian reform program sa ilalim ng Presidential Decree No. 27 at ang Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) ay naglalabas ng mga indibidwal na titulo ng lupa sa mga walang lupang magsasaka at manggagawang bukid.
“If we will consolidate lands, that would be going against the intent and essence of PD 27 and CARP. We will be destroying the legacies of the father and grandfather of President-Elect Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and incoming DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella, III, respectively,” wika ni Cruz.
“Under the CARP though, we have awarded collective land titles called the collective certificate of land ownership award (CCLOAs) in the past. Seeing that the farmers are not prospering in their collective lands, President Duterte directed us to split these landholdings. We are now in the process of individualizing these CCLOAs to serve the farmers better,” dagdag ni Cruz.
Sinabi ni Cruz na ang mga magsasaka na nakatali sa CCLOAs ay dehado sa maraming paraan.
“Collective ownership does not protect the property rights of our farmers because they do not have their own titles of their lands. They also fight over what to plant,” wika ni Cruz.
Aniya, ang pag-amyenda sa batas ng CARP ay hindi sagot para maging mas produktibo ang mga magsasaka.
“We all want the same thing, to improve our agricultural system through massive crop production, and we can achieve this through our Mega Farms project. It involves consolidation of production with support services and protects the property rights of farmers. It is not consolidation of ownership” wika ni Cruz.
