Has there really been an agrarian reform in the Philippines? Or it's just in black in white and has really never been realized? Yes we have Republic Act 9700 or the CARPER Law which provided for the extension of land acquisition and distribution for five years. And that five years will soon end come June 30, 2014!
So what will happen now? What happens to the public and private agricultural lands which have yet to be distributed under the CARPER Law? According to the Department of Agrarian Reform, a total of 790,671 hectares of public agricultural lands still remain to be covered under the CARPER Law. So what does this mean? Time was not enough to distribute all the lands covered by the law? Or there was something more than meets the eye?
No wonder Rep. Teddy Baguilat filed a bill (House Bill No. 4296) seeking to continue and complete the land distribution and acquisition process for all public and private agricultural lands covered under the CARPER Law. The bill is seeking to extend the distribution even beyond June 30, 2014. While this is a good measure to ensure that lands are distributed, there is no assurance that this will be accomplished in due time. There will always be excuses and, worse, the way out can always be through extension of the agrarian reform program.
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