SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Tuesday led lawmakers in lauding President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. for signing an Executive Order (EO) that extends for another two years the moratorium on the debt of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) not covered by the recently-enacted New Agrarian Emancipation Act (NAEA).

Likewise, Speaker Romualdez commended the Department of Agrarian Reform for submitting the Implementing Rules and Regulations on the NAEA (Republic Act No. 11953) 15 days before the prescribed deadline.

Romualdez, leader of the 311-member House of Representatives, was among the government officials who witnessed President Marcos sign the EO extending up to September 15, 2025 the agrarian debt moratorium and presentation of the IRR of RA 11953 to the Chief Executive by DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III.

“The extension of the moratorium on the payment of the amortization and principal on the debt of our agrarian reform beneficiaries is a demonstration of the commitment of the administration of President Marcos to their welfare and the growth of our agricultural sector,” Romualdez said.

“DAR’s early submission of the IRR is a significant step towards fulfilling the promise of the New Agrarian Emancipation Act to uplift the life of our farmers, revitalize our agricultural sector and provide affordable food for every family,” he added.

He noted that the moratorium would benefit some 129,059 ARBs, tilling an estimated 158,209 hectares of land, who did not reach the cut-off period of July 24, 2023, provided under RA 11953 to qualify for agrarian debt condonation.

The condoning of agrarian reform debt under the NAEA, on the other hand, would benefit some 610,054 ARBs who incurred an estimated P57.55 billion in unpaid amortization. It also terminates P206.247 million in unpaid compensation to landowners by 10,201 ARBs.

“The next step is aiding them to those objectives by providing them with or giving them access to credit, technology, equipment, inputs and other vital support services. Let us leave them to fend for themselves,” he added.

He pointed out that a farmer whose agrarian reform debt has been erased but who does not get help in obtaining credit for production and other needs may turn to usurers who will drive them into debt again.

Camarines Sur Rep. and National Unity Party (NUP) president LRay Villafuerte is looking forward to the early liberation of over 600,000 farmer-beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) following this week’s issuance of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the landmark law condoning the close to P58-billion combined debts of these agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).

In signing the IRR of Republic Act (RA) 11953 or the “New Agrarian Emancipation Act,” Villafuerte said, “The President has hit the gas on his landmark law that would truly liberate our ARBs from their CARP debts, thereby opening their access to rural credit and empowering them to make more productive a combined 1.17 million hectares (ha) of land that they have been tilling for decades.”

The fast-track implementation of this new law, which Villafuerte earlier described as a “defining moment” of the Marcos presidency, is, “well-timed, given that it will lead to greater farm productivity at this period when weak harvests of palay and other farm crops have unduly jacked up the retail prices of these essential foodstuff, which, in turn, have caused headline inflation to rise anew in August following the government’s success in taming commodity price spikes over the January-July period.”

The IRR was drafted by a committee with Agrarian Reform Undersecretary Napoleon Galit as chairma and Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) executive vice president Alex Lorayes as vice chairman.

The Agrarian Reform secretary said that the committee had drawn up the IRR after conducting public consultations in key agrarian reform communities across the country on this new law, which will condone the P65.57-billion debts of 610,054 ARBs who till a total of 1.17 million hectares of land.

“Being freed from their unpaid amortizations, interests, surcharges and penalties on their decades-old CARP loans, these farmer-beneficiaries of RA 11953 are sure to gain access to rural credit, thus enabling them to invest more in their croplands to improve their yields and incomes,” Villafuerte said.

The President’s signing of the law’s IRR demonstrates Mr. Marcos’ commitment to speeding up the modernization of Philippine agriculture and boosting our farmers’ yields and incomes, which is “in keeping with his government’s agenda to achieve food security, if not self-sufficiency, and make economic growth sustainable and inclusive for all Filipinos, including those in the agriculture sector,” said Villafuerte.

The principal author in the House of RA 11494, Villafuerte explained that Section 4 of the Bayanihan 2 law states that: “The payment of interests, penalties and surcharges of loans used for land acquisition to any and all government agencies and government-owned or-controlled corporations (GOCCs) including LandBank shall be condoned and the remaining original principal value be restructured without interest thereon.”

He said this particular section of Bayanihan 2 also states that: “All previous payment for interest be credited to principal payment instead; Provided, further, that the condonation of interests, penalties and surcharges from these loans shall be in conformity with the applicable general banking laws and regulations of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).”

Villafuerte had authored or co-authored 28 of the 37 House-approved measures from the President’s priority list of 54 bills.

Also, Villafuerte had authored or co-authored 9 of the 28 other laws signed by President Marcos since he assumed office last year.

During a House leaders’ caucus at the end of the 19th Congress’ first regular session, the Villafuerte-led NUP was one of the majority parties that had expressed full support for the chamber’s approval of the remaining Marcos-endorsed priority bills and for the House leadership under Speaker Romualdez.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Ryan Ponce Pacpaco