PCCI backs CARL amendment to boost farm productivity

THE Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) threw its support behind the amendment of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL), particularly the easing of rules in land consolidation and ownership.

“The weak agriculture system in the country is principally driven by the low productivity of farmers and despite the implementation of the comprehensive land reform law and various support services, the Philippines continues to lag behind her neighbors in Asean in terms of development,” PCCI said in a statement.

In a meeting organized by the PCCI Agriculture Committee, Atty. George Katigbak of the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) said land fragmentation as a result of the land reform program negatively impacts agricultural productivity and efficiency.

Under the present law, land retention is only limited to five years and agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBS) are prohibited from leasing or selling their property within 10 years of award, and those with unpaid obligations to Land Bank, which approximately is around 71 percent of ARBS.

Katigbak noted that Philippine agriculture’s share in GDP and employment has remained low.

“The evidence on land pawning and selling show that land consolidation is actually taking place underground. In essence, we are not bringing anything new, we are just formalizing what is happening on the ground which is an economic efficiency argument,” he said in his presentation.

PCCI Agriculture Committee chair Paul Cuyegkeng said land consolidation is the right direction to take and has worked based on his personal experience.

“In my area, we have tried to consolidate a few hectares and it is working. We are grouping the farmers to form a cooperative and trying to put them together with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA). The key thing is to make sure that we got the right representatives to manage the coop because you need people that can be trusted, honest in serving the coop members,” Cuyegkeng said.

FEF also recommended some key reform measures in amending the law. These include the conversion of Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAS) to simple titles to increase land values and efficiency in land transactions. It also suggested that the notice of land coverage for land reform should be effective for one year only, and failure to acquire lands during one year means coverage is canceled.

It made a pitch for the removal of Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) clearances on land transfers. FEF said the Registration Authority should do the monitoring and verification of land holding ceiling with its electronic database.