Genuine agrarian reform

BUKLURANG Atenista (Buklat), a progressive youth-based socio-political organization of Ateneo de Davao University, stands firm on its position against Republic Act 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp) and Republic Act 9700 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program with Extension and Reform Law (Carper).

Article II Sec. 3 of the Buklat Constitution states that, “We believe that basic Ignatian Values such as service to our fellow men and women, must at all times be upheld”. Thus, it is our deepest intent to support the Filipino farmers on their struggle for genuine agrarian reform through decisive and critical means.

Buklat desires to realize the Atenean value of “Cura Personalis”, being persons for others, through supporting our farmers who truly deserve social justice in terms of equitable distribution of resources and opportunities. By this, we exercise “Magis” by going beyond the four corners of our classrooms and pro-actively involve ourselves in the issues that confront every Atenean today.

Buklat believes that Carp and Carper are false programs for agrarian reform that denied landless farmers of their rightful ownership of ancestral lands that is due to harsh exploitations & inhumane working conditions brought about by such law for decades already. It rendered the farmers blind and searching through 26 years, which instead featured numerous extensions since June 10, 1988.

It failed to realize its purpose of redistributing privately owned agricultural lands haciendas and multinational plantations. Contrary to the deceitful reports of Carp?s success, in fact a total of 73% ( 879,536 ha ) out of 1,209,236 hectares are still left undistributed under the USAquino Regime. Majority of such are still owned by big landlords including that of Hacienda Luisita which should have been re-distributed already to farmers in 1986. Worse, even the Certificates of Land Transfer (CLT), Emancipation Patents (EP) at Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) were prevalently cancelled or re-possessed using the provisions of Carp itself.

Also, the Stock Distribution Options (SDO) was of no avail since this does not warrant ownership. Furthermore, loopholes in the said legislature were taken advantage by the bourgeois capitalist landlords thru land-use conversion, which exempts agricultural land if altered into residential subdivision, roads and highways and other infrastructure projects. More than benefiting the farmers, Carp has failed them.

In assessing laws in Philippine legislations like CARP and Carper whose effectivity is in a bad light, it is best to evaluate first whose interest it truly serves. BUKLAT believes that these programs are pro-capitalist and bourgeois-oriented and had historically proven its sluggish implementation – delusional and irresponsive to the felt needs of our Filipino farmers.

Buklat frowns upon the proposed extension of CARP up to 2016, since this will continue the disempowerment of the farmers. Thus, to address the issue at hand in favor of the farmers, it is best that we prioritize the interest of the peasantry in order to draw solutions from them and for them.

BUKLAT urges the House of Representatives and the Senate to fast track the passage House Bill 374 or the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (Garb). Buklat believes that GARB is the better and more reasonable solution because it directly targets the root cause of the problem. The bill seeks to enable the State to confront the fundamental problem of our society, break up land monopoly and foreign control of our lands, and implement free land distribution that will render social justice to millions of landless farmers.

It also aims to integrate the delivery of holistic support services in order to raise the productivity of our farmers and increase their income and living standards. This bill further seeks to lay the foundation for national industrialization and put the development of our economy on strong and sound fundamentals.

Garb includes all agricultural lands. It has no exemption and exclusion. It doesn’t depend on the legal name but on the actual use of public and private land.

Now, Buklat encourages the whole Ateneo de Davao community, especially its entire studentry whose interests are by all means aligned with that of our farmers, to join us in our pursuit of struggling with and for the farmers, the backbone of the Philippine economy and society. Only when we directly and ultimately serve the interest of the farmers and not the monopolist landlords do we actualize our being as Ateneans.