Laboring Poor

“In recent times the working people of the capital have become impossible to deal with, because they have read in our books truths too potent for them.” -          Restif de la Bretonne, quoted from the Enlightenment by Hampson

The renaissance of labor unrest in the cities especially Metro Manila in the Philippines evinces the long standing workers’ universal struggle for recognition of their rights to living wage, humane working condition, collective bargaining, and security of tenure. It is universally accepted that a strike is a legitimate weapon of the workers to push for their rights. Or else they will be left at the total mercy from capitalists.

While recognizing the right to strike, the Constitution has laid two conditions for a strike; it must be peaceful and it must be in accordance with the Labor Code has supplemented the conditions, that it must be consistent with the national interest. A peaceful strike is a strike all right but how can a message get across? I know that a heavy man leaves a deep footprint and that of the light man is wiped by a sweeping wind. Like the cases LRT, Meralco, manila hotel workers, through organizing they became big brick but they were facing bigger wall. As a result, they got laid off. A strike in accordance with the law is preposterous in the intent which is rooted in the injustices of the capitalists---violations of the same law which is supposed to protect the workers. The consistency with the national interest is never a question in the event of the strike since labor issues are always of national interest. Therefore any inconsistency with the labor sector’s concerns become inconsistent also with the national interest.

In a country where workers are overwhelming and capital is scarce, coupled with the aggression of globalization in the system, the government is rendered powerless in the might of capital. Government policies seem to sympathize with the capitalists’ problems especially in times of crisis but not the labor problems. It is easily swayed to favor the employers and readily willing to sacrifice the labor side. This was manifested in the pal crisis, LRT, Meralco, and manila hotel labor disputes. And now it is evident even in the proposed emergency or special powers asked by the President where there will be a moratorium in the CBA. The labor sector is found battling against two formidable enemies – the unjust capitalists and the capitalist government that is supposed to protect and promote the rights of the workers because they do not have the means to protect themselves. Generally the labor groups are offered a compromise which is short of selling their souls to the employer or make them bite the bullet. They are forced to accept harsh conditions which are unjust but made legal by the state.

Commonly the capital always inequitably claims the profits and products and leaves the smallest minimum to labor. The minimum wage law that could have appropriated a just share of labor in the production becomes stagnant even in depressed times. The Regional Wage Boards are set up primarily to determine the just and fair wage in each region but it becomes a ploy to divide and conquer the labor sector. The undying P125 nationwide wage increase is a dead-end in the RWBs so the advocacy efforts are geared toward the legislated process. But Congress cannot accommodate this since election is just around the corner. What more can the laboring poor do in the midst of plain injustices happening before their justice-seeking eyes? I dread the portent of Bastille. Even the Son of a laborer who was once denied of justice can find heaven in the earth of the struggle of the working class.

All Is Well That Ends Wealthy

“You must admit that there is happiness man alive because he is superior to all he possesses; but it is an empty life where nothing gives pleasure.”

                                                                        - Voltaire, Candide

            The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) report on the wealth of President Estrada just confirms the long standing stain on the faces of the public officials now and then – graft and corruption. But not on the presidency please. I have this little glimmer of hope that somewhere in the public office there is still upright and unadulterated space, and I generously reserve that to the presidency. If there is any effort to influence, it must start from the top down to the bottom. I think it would be easier that way than the other way around but I am not denying the latter of its own course and I am not going to judge which way is better because more or less each one has a reason to think that way. With all the forces of doubts steering e closer to the truth, I am tempted to shed a light why people think public officials do conceal and keep the silence of wealth in office or after office.

            It is empirical to note that no public official retires from office forcibly through time or through legal mandate poorer than he was before taking office except a handful of the few that risked the resources of the known rich family for the service for the marginalized. One inspiring example would be former President Sergio Osmeña who sold some of the family’s assets to cover some costs of basic services to the people. However, during and in the post-Marcos era, the public belief was reaffirmed by the frenzied activities of the cronies or kamag-anak or mistahs and now the kumpadres and the first families. It is believed now that more critically-decided ventures of the government are made in the nocturnal sessions with the close “friends” of the president than in the usual cabinet meetings. Recently, one brave soul in the person of Sister Tan divulged the monopoly of the first family in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) projects that, though seemingly legitimate, were expended mostly in the hands of the first family, Privilege indeed resides in the seat of power and emanates from the people who take the seat.

            Sadly, people nowadays engage in politics due to the mundane endeavors-prestige, power and wealth. Gone are the days when one seeks office due to his calling to serve faithfully. The vocation to public service becomes secondary or even non-existent to the mind and soul of the public officials. The idea of public service is reduced to attending weddings, neurological wake, birthdays and baptisms, year in and out. What happens now to the popular saying, public service is a public thrust? I remember Dolphy starting this when asked if he would run for an office, he said, “madali tumakbo, paano kung manalo?” I truly admire the guy’s response because there is no question of his winning ability but precisely, what is he going to do there? Exactly the same question goes to the people now in office who have barely 9 months to go, what have you done and what are you doing? It is hoped that they should not forget their accountability to the people. The people especially the oppresses are the main reasons why there are where they are. I suppose that they do not contribute to the dehumanizing of the oppressed instead join in the struggle to liberation. But I usually see them on the other side with the unscrupulous impeding the road to access education, health, social services and justice. Then I have come to understand and meet the natural evil of man. The “I” speaks on himself, wanting to own the world, be superior, in the process neglecting the social responsibility to others. The issue of graft and corruption as I am told is the fight between good and evil. I think we know which side belongs to public officials.

            In the World Bank report, 20% or 1/5 of the national budget is lost to corruption every year. That sizeable amount could have built a hundred thousands of classrooms or could have raised the public employees’ wage to a decent and living one or could have fed the many starving evacuees in the Mindanao war. And the lists can go on and on but it will not be taken back like the air we exhale. The report shows that the government is weak in setting up at least regulatory framework resulting to barely provision of basic services to the people, much less in strategic development planning. This, I believe, has prompted the President to wage war against graft and corruption in the SONA.

            Is the President ready to confront familiar faces in this war? Is he prepared to see himself just like in the mirror?

            In the same report, it is said that 22% of the public were victimized and only 8% complained. I think the hardly hit here are the poor people and I believe they are now ready to complain. But who will listen?

Mindanao Bites

“Mizpah!  The Lord watch between me and thee when we are absent from one another,”

  - Og Mandino, The Christ’s Commission

            In Mindanao, we have seen the faces of painful exodus of half a million Filipinos, we have heard the agonizing cries of the living and the dead, we have read their writings inscribed on the land of promises asking ‘why us’ from both the fighting and the victims, and we have talked literally about the pictures, words, and sounds of decades of conflict. Have we anyhow felt their trembling emotions of emptiness, having taken everything from them by war except pieces of questions and hope?

             During the Gulf war in 1990s, I followed the events, at that time, with awe and amazement of the new, high-tech artilleries of the American forces. It was how I saw the events just like in the movies, missing entirely the core message of war. One rocket-missile costing for about, I don’t know how much, but could have fed a hundred hungry children once hit the target causing deaths to the enemies, destruction of homes, seeding fear and trauma to the victims. Death which meant loss of father to a son, son to a father, brother to a brother, bred hatred, anger and revenge tarrying its time.

             Wars are essentially of the same kind of evil. They differ just in the fronts and they end just the same – no victors. When the government troops overran Camp Abubakar, I found it unacceptable to claim victory being a peace advocate and knowing that there is something more to come, waiting to exhale. True enough, it did come when a lesser jihad for all Muslims was called. Since then unlike in the movies, I do not see the ending or the plot of the story. As in chess, threats are more telling in sowing fear of losing that their execution.

            Since Bicol is many seas and islands away from Mindanao, I could barely empathize with our brothers and sisters who are directly or indirectly victims of the war. Not until I met a classmate in college whose husband was part of the team that overran Abubakar, until I heard the tale of a mother whose son is still there in the thick of action, and until I read a letter from a new mother who has just delivered a baby boy without a husband beside her. I saw their worries, fears, anxieties, and prayers in the guise of the seemingly cheerful faces, reserved in their eschewed looks in the eye, and in-between lines of the letter. Finally I had Mindanao through them, vivid, real, disturbing, piercing and ripping.

            Whether we admit it or not, the Mindanao question has ranged over us one way or another. Every day we are gaping witnesses to the tragedies, massacres, ambushes, crimes of our recent times that are either explicitly or obliquely expressions and forms of Mindanao question. A theory in psychology would point out that external events are attributed to the way we behave. Troubled, agitated yet defenseless. Jean Anouilh used to say, ‘there is nothing to do but scream.’

            Aray! (Complaint of pain).. Mosquitoes, rainy days are here again. (I feel a sudden lump in my throat when I read the Department of Health (DOH) report indicating that there have already been 24 dengue cases around the country.)

          Shhhhhh.... At once I need not move composure and poise under pressure are invoked to lure mosquitoes to come over to my side. Composure, poise and restraint under pressure to retaliate and get even are needed in conflict resolution and prevention.

             But mosquitoes bite randomly.


           Plak!! I think I’ve crushed the little things so hard. Now I have blood marked on my numb palm and shin. Of course, bites hurt.

           I have yet to learn from these mosquitoes. I want no more blood on my hand. 

"Who Owns Handiong's Land?"

When Israel was in Egypt’s land –

  Let my people go.

Oppressed so hard they could not stand
Let my people go.   - Margaret Walker, Jubilee

            This was the question of the 2000 symposium in Bicolandia’s agrarian history relative with the celebration of the Jubilee Year on a theme, “return the land” for the month of July with Professor Danilo M. Gerona of Ateneo de Naga University as the lecturer-speaker.

            Basically, the symposium laid down the historical background embodying the question back to the past. It was the same question that brought us back to the pre-colonial and colonial period and introduced us to the significant-elite people who virtually owned the whole peninsula during those times. We relived the eventful moments when quintessential ties with the friars would spell influence and riches. Interestingly, those elite landed people belonged to the families of non-Bicolanos in origin, flesh and blood.

            That was before as it is now. These landed influential families cling to the land supposedly to be enjoyed by all humanity with all its bounties and fruits. Only the few who, by the god of their grace, have shared with the blessings of creation while the many who, by the grace of their gods, religiously pray the supplications of their ancestors hoping that there is indeed a heaven. After the silence of centuries, the situation of landholdings in the region relatively abides at the expense of the fortunate few whom, by reason alien to earth but known to man, remain untouched.

            According to the 1995 unofficial data from the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) among the top 10 provinces with large land distribution balances, Albay and Camarines Sur occupied the first two slots with the most of backlog (Gono, 1996). On the 12^th anniversary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) which would have set reforms in the centuries-old unjust structures this year, the Department claimed to have distributed 55% of the target 1,688,887 hectares since 1988 (Philippine Peasant Institute, 2000). The program envisions the Philippines as a nation of family-sized farms tilled, developed, and most importantly owned by the ordinary citizens who wanted all their lives a piece of land on their own homeland. Twelve years of hoping, of waiting in vain, many farmers cultivate laboriously the lands of others to fill the cups and plates of their masters while opting to be silent with the drizzle of generosity from the masters. Silence and discontent like those of lambs and caterpillars are hovering around the air wanting to be something, to have something to complete their existence.

            Moreover, the program was instituted to humanize the dehumanizing state of the tenant-farmers but the lack of political will on the part of the government, the delay of land distribution to the rightful beneficiaries, the arrogance and undue deference to the landlords have contributed to the dehumanizing process of the landless.

            And the question still persists today. But the die is cast and the river is crossed. The torch is lighted and the flame is burning. We can go nowhere but here. Let us stand and dig together to clear mountains. Let us all be Handiong, a hero who surmounted difficulty and won victory. Anyway, who is afraid to answer the question?

            Who really owns Handiong’s land? The answer lies in our hands. 

Tears Too Late

“If you have tears, prepare to shed them now.” -  (Shakespeare, Julius Caesar)

The recent stampede in a festival in Cambodia that killed at least 370 people caused me to recall the Payatas tragedy in July 2000. I wrote this article during that time.

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            In school we are taught to count balls, sticks and squares. As we grow, we learn to see numbers differently. Politicians translate them as votes, businessmen add them as profits, gamblers divine them as lucky combination, teachers and students present them as grades, and others treat them as they are – mere numbers, nothing more or less.

            And how do we see the 193 (and still counting) bodies found dead in Payatas? If we see it as 7 less to become 200, fine we are correct. However much as we would like to know our different views, we would never question those except our challenge to check those standpoints with our own values and conscience.

            Much have been said and written about the Payatas tragedy. We have had enough of the upbraiding and bickering of the government officials and politicos. We have heard too many of the pleas and cries of the aggrieved families who lost more than their sons, daughters, members of the families but their faces among the faceless wishful thinkers in the land of promises they consider their own. The land that feeds them has become the land that devours them. It is the same and where they built their houses with their dreams of a new life in the city, where they dig their living searching for a bottle of genie or lamp of luck everyday with unfailing vision of a better tomorrow than today. Each strike of the kalahig that pierces through the depth of the land is like stabbing their misfortune in life, hurting, lethargic yet healing, and forever hoping. Each material it hooks goes with the desire of having more, putting it in a basket of filling weight of surviving, carrying it where there maybe more. Paradoxically they subsist on something the city can live without. And they live nonetheless like us.

            We are different from them. Every day we go out with our kalahig, in our search for magis. We all look for the bottle of genie, and we oftentimes are fooled to go to the city in our attempt to find the lamp of luck. We are lured to the illusory lights of the city, brightness hard to ignore, too inviting to explore yet in its glitter, we are blinded by the danger and price of leaving our home and living away from it.

            Payatas is a home to a vagabond or to those who consider every place a home but definitely not a home to our children, our parents, our brothers and sisters, and our family. Still some people choose to live there, making it their home. Indeed, the rain chooses no stone to wet, and wet rolling stone gathers no moss.

            Out of 193, have you given it a thought of how many might be Bicolanos? Just a thought.

NBA Season 2010-2011 is On: Let The Games Begin

The 2010-2011 NBA season is underway. This season is much-hyped and most-awaited one for the best reasons in the world.

Prior to the opening of the season, marquee and superstar players were traded and now playing in different teams. The most controversial was "The Decision" aired by ESPN live and generated so much attention. In that decision, it centered on Lebron James and his new team, Miami Heat.

Eastern conference

James decided to pursue his championship dream with another team together with his pals and superstar players, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosch. The Big Trio is expected to shake up the competition in the eastern conference and challenging the Big Three of the Boston Celtics that won the championship in 2008 and a finalist in 2009-2010 season.

The Celtics acquired the Big Man in Shaq O'Neal to bolster its defense and also offense. The Orlando Magic remains a powerhouse with Dwight Howard and Vince Carter in the line-up. The underperforming Atlanta Hawks retain Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Jamal Crawford, Mike Bibby, and others in the hope that this year will be the breakout year for the hawks.

Western conference

The defending champion, Los Angeles Lakers, is aiming for a three-peat this season by retaining the core of the team in Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Ron Artest, Derek Fisher, and others. The Lakers is still the team to beat this season.

The Phoenix Suns is not the same without Amare Stoudemire. However, it acquired Hedo Turkoglo in the trade. The Dallas Mavericks is hoping that this season will be the payoff of its blockbuster trade last year involving major players such as Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood joining the team, and letting go of Josh Howard and Drew Gooden. The New Orleans Hornets hopes that its super point-guard in Chris Paul will remain healthy this season to return and get deeper into the playoff season. The Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs are strong contenders in the western conference title.

With the 2010-2011 season on, the amazing and exciting games are also on each day. Catch them and be part of the excitement.

Seeing the last of Gerry Penalosa as a boxer (for now)

Before Manny Pacquiao, there was the two-time world champion Gerry Peńalosa who carried the torch of the country's elite position in the boxing world.


Last 10 October 2010, Gerry had his last fight against a game Thai boxer, Yodsaenkeng Kietmangmee, in Zamboanga City. He earned his career 37th knockout out of the 55 wins or 67.3% knockout rate. That is an amazing feat to knockout almost 7 out of 10 opponents. He ended his illustrious 21-year boxing career with two world championship belts in two weight divisions (superflyweight and bantamweight), and a record of 55-8-2 with 37 knockouts.


Gerry provided us with memorable bouts, notably against Kawashima where he won the WBC superflyweight title in 1997, against Daniel Ponce de Leon in 2007, and against Gonzalez for his WBO bantamweight title in 2007. His desire to win another title motivated him to be back to the ring after two years of self-declared hiatus in boxing. Who could forget that one-shot to the body of Johnny Gonzalez that brought the former champion to his knees? 

It was a dream come true for Gerry to win another world championship belt for the Philippines. At that time, Pacquiao had already become a household name in the boxing world by beating the Mexican greats successively. And then, another Filipino boxer, Nonito Donaire, Jr., shocked the boxing world by knocking out the unbeaten Darchinyan to wrest the IBO and IBF flyweight belts. On the same year, Donnie Nietes won the WBO minimum weight champion. The year 2007 was a banner year for Filipino boxers.


Gerry defended his title before a home crowd in the Philippines the next year. 

He moved up to super bantamweight to challenge the reigning and unbeaten champion, Juan Manuel Lopez. Gerry lost and posted his first knockout loss via a 9th round technical knockout.


Early this year, Gerry wanted another try at the bantamweight division for the vacant WBO interim title by engaging Eric Morel in a 12-round slugfest. Although bloodied in the later rounds, Gerry stood his ground. The official decision did not go his way, but many thought he won that fight.


Gerry did not want his boxing career to end in a losing note. So he wanted to showcase his tactical fighting skills for his last fight in the Philippines. And he did, to the delight of his fans.


According to the great boxing coach and trainer Freddie Roach, Gerry is "the best technical boxer that ever came from the Philippines." This is affirmed by many Filipino boxing analysts and experts.


Surely, Gerry will not go away from boxing. He said that boxing is his life. He will be around, but not inside the ring. He wants to train and produce another Filipino world champions, thus cementing the elite position of the Philippines in the boxing world.


Thank you Gerry.

Reproductive Health Bill (RHB) to reduce our population boom?

Are Filipino couples producing more babies today than the previous years? The data would point to a resounding NO.

However, the proponents and supporters of the Reproductive Health Bill (RHB) would argue that Filipino couples are still producing more babies. They would direct our sights to the increasing number of children in slums and on the streets. Of course, our population is growing. One of the arguments and justifications for pushing the bill is that we need to reduce our population boom. Hence, what is relevant in the debate is the population growth rate than the population growth itself. Again, are we producing more babies today compared to the previous years?

Another relevant question would be, does the Philippines need a population control nowadays? (See the impact and pressures of population on environment and development goals here.)


Below are the data from the National Statistical Coordination Board (NCSB) that monitors and estimates  the population growth rate of the country.

Population of the Philippines
Census Years 1799 to 2007

Year	Population	Average annual rate of increase (%)	Source of data
1799	1,502,574	-	Fr. Buzeta
1800	1,561,251	3.91	Fr. Zuniga
1812	1,933,331	1.80	Cedulas
1819	2,106,230	1.23	Cedulas
1829	2,593,287	2.10	Church
1840	3,096,031	1.62	Local officials
1850	3,857,424	2.22	Fr. Buzeta
1858	4,290,381	1.34	Bowring
1870	4,712,006	0.78	Guia de Manila
1877	5,567,685	2.41	Census
1887	5,984,727	0.72	Census
1896	6,261,339	0.50	Prof. Plehn's estimate based on census records.
1903	7,635,426	2.87	Census
1918	10,314,310	2.03	Census
1939	16,000,303	2.11	Census
1948	19,234,182	2.07	Census
1960	27,087,685	2.89	Census
1970	36,684,486	3.08	Census
1975	42,070,660	2.78	Census
1980	48,098,460	2.71	Census
1990	60,703,206	2.35	Census
1995	68,616,536	2.32	Census
2000	76,504,077	2.36	Census
2007	88,574,614	2.04	Census

Note: Population from 1799 to 1896 excludes non-Christians.

a - Includes the household population, homeless population, Filipinos in Philippine Embassies/Consulates and missions abroad and institutional population who are found living in institutional living quarters such as penal institutions, orphanages, hospitals, military camps, etc. at the time of the census taking.

Source: National Statistics Office.

Since peaking in the 1970s, the population growth rate of the Philippines has been on the downward trend. And this year, it is expected to have less than 2% growth rate. In the World Development Indicators of the World Bank, the population growth rate of the Philippines stood at 1.8% in 2008. Notably, this is without the proposed population control espoused by the RHB.

For a more detailed and interesting discussion on this downward trend, click here for an article published in Philippine Daily Inquirer by Dr. Bernardo Villegas.

Average Annual Exponential Growth Rates, Philippines: 2000-2040

Year	Growth Rate
2000-2005	2.05
2005-2010	1.95
2010-2015	1.82
2015-2020	1.64
2020-2025	1.46
2025-2030	1.27
2030-2035	1.09
2035-2040	0.92

 Even the projection of the population growth rate points to the continuing downward trend. Thus, Filipino couples know better than we think. Obviously on the national average, each generation is producing less children than the previous ones. 

Then, why control something that is already on the downward trend? The answer is, as we know, business for profits. With the RHB enacted, some pockets will be filled why millions of Filipinos languish on living with $2 a day. 

Who will really benefit from the RHB? The poor deserves an answer.

(Another argument here)

November 13-bout of Pacquiao: Why Margarito?

Manny Pacquiao is larger than himself. He is the ambassador of the Philippines to the world. He is known beyond anyone could imagine.

When I went to Barcelona, I met a security guard from Dominican Republic.  When he learned that I am a Filipino, he immediately closed his two fists and said, "Manny Pacquiao."  In the Dutch university, I met a Thai exchange researcher. He told me that he and other Thais are proud of what Manny Pacquaio has achieved. As Asians, they too celebrate Pacquiao's exploits and victories inside and outside the ring.

Inside the ring, Pacquaio is the recognized pound-for-pound king in the boxing world today. He won an unprecedented seven titles in seven weight divisions. He is the current World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion  at 147 lbs. He is considered to be the greatest Asian boxer of all-time, and is lined up among the greats of all time in the sports.

Outside the ring, Pacquiao is a national hero in the Philippines. He is also a politician who was elected as a lawmaker in the Philippine Congress. According to him, his heart goes out to those in need. He wants to serve the poor. Coming from similar ranks a decade ago, Pacquiao knows and understands the plight of the poor. He is also a devout Catholic.

With all these accolades and achievements, what is out there to achieve with the Margarito fight? Is it the pursuit of the eight world titles in eight weight divisions? Probably. Is it worth it? Yes.

Then, why Margarito, a boxer that was stripped of his license because of illegal hand wraps?

Pacquaio is the gem of boxing right now. Why mingle him with a faux stone?

I would love Pacquaio to see fight inside the ring; but not this. There is nothing to be achieved here except an additional title. But there is no honor in fighting someone who was found guilty of cheating.

Nonetheless, I wish him well.

Mr. President: Agrarian Reform Now

 Our call to social justice is not afterall inutile. The Philippine Supreme Court ruled with finality that the vast sugar plantations are covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law or R.A. No. 6657. Our sugar farmers will be able to till their own lands soon - a victory of concerted advocacy to distribute lands from the hacienderos to the landless farmers.

Landlessness is a major cause of worsening poverty in rural Philippines.  The poorest Filipinos are the landless farmers who earn their living from hired-labor or tenancy on farms owned by landlords. No matter how hard they work all day, they are not able to earn what their families need to live decently.

To reduce rural poverty in the country, agrarian reform promises to be a potent force. A piece of land to the farmers who toil all day is a dream fulfilled and deserved. They will finally be able to reap the fruit of their labor. Working hard will eventually pay off. Imagine the joy, empowerment and splendored dream that go with that piece of land to farmers, their children, and their communities.

Land distribution to actual farmers is a key to poverty alleviation in rural areas. Economic data may show otherwise, but here is my take on it. Without land, farmers urge their children to join them as hired-laborers in the fields for additional income of the family. With land, farmers send their children to schools and ask their help in the weekends. This scenario cannot be captured by economic data and yet a valuable data nonetheless.

Land ownership brings the farmers into the market system which drives our economy. Imagine hundreds of thousands additional players in the market system. Landlords will remain players in the market system due to their retained estate holdings and other mainstream economic activities.

Two decades of agrarian reform have partially demonstrated the promises of land reform. It was two decades of trying stages of learning and taking further the lessons in the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

The Senate approved the CARP extension for another five years with P 147 billion to cover 1.6 million hectares for distribution to landless farmer-beneficiaries. The House of Representatives also passed CARP extension. Extending a government program means that there is an unfinished and incomplete task.
What remains to be distributed are the contentious private large estates. This is where the compulsory land distribution and acquisition component of CARP will be tested again. The creative and controversial “corporative ownership” scheme is allowed in the extended CARP approved by the Senate.

Many argue that this “corporative ownership” scheme is a better set up to keep up the production of land. However, this does not effectively transfer land ownership to the farmer-beneficiaries. In the end, farmers are left wondering whether they truly own the land they till or not.

For the farmers, it is logical to pass and implement CARP right away. Land conversions of agricultural lands to industrial and other uses take away the golden opportunity from farmers of owning a land where they can start building their dreams of a good life.

Agrarian reform now is a call for social justice due to poor farmers in the rural areas. Mr. President, please.