Press Release
June 29, 2007

Villar supports gains of CARP

SENATE President Manny Villar said the gains of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) must be sustained to address agricultural productivity, poverty and social justice.

In his speech during the 19th anniversary of the CARP at the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Diliman, Villar said that with only one year remaining before the expiration of CARP, its implementation must be thoroughly reviewed to serve as an essential guide to its extension.

Republic Act No. 6657 otherwise known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law was enacted in 1988 and became the legal basis for the implementation of CARP.

The said law provides, "The agrarian reform program is founded on the right of farmers and regular farm workers, who are landless, to own directly or collectively the lands they till or, in the case of other farm workers, to receive a share of the fruits thereof."

The Senate President stressed, "Development in the rural areas as well as services provided to the people who were made beneficiaries of the statute should continue."

He supported Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman's advocacy of sustaining the gains of CARP and its continued relevance to rural growth and development.

CARP does not end in redistributing lands but more significantly it is a comprehensive program that should uplift the socio-economic status of millions of farmers in the countryside, Villar said.

He stressed the importance of CARP in promoting social justice, poverty reduction, agricultural productivity, job generation and economic growth.

"We cannot deny our farmers the opportunity to live better and more comfortable lives. The fight for rural folk empowerment, social justice and equity is just starting," Villar said.

Villar acknowledged that in the past 19 years, at least 85 percent of CARP beneficiaries have received land, along with the provision of credit systems and trainings.

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