CARP Should be Revised

The Catholic Church is scrambling against the ruling of the High Court on the inclusion of Church administered lands in Camarines to Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) Some people see the ruling as a retaliation by the Malacanang Palace against the Church after the latter backed the Sumilao farmers in their fight for land ownerships of their lands in Bukidnon. Other people see the reaction of the Church as uncharitable and borders on greed. They see that the Church have some sort of double-standard when dealing with land ownership since they Church is willing to support farmers in their fight for land ownership but shunned from distributing the Church’s lands to the farmers subsisting on those lands.

The law, which includes CARP, is rigid and it is meant to be that way. If it could be bended one way or another, then why the heck we create laws. Church administered or owned lands should not be exempted from CARP, even if those lands were acquired through donation. The High Court’s ruling should be followed. Following the whims of the Church will create a chaotic scenario where hacienderos and landlords will claim that their lands were donated, and should also be exempted from CARP.

But then again, CARP and its results should be reviewed. I do not believe that CARP is enough to alleviate the plight of our farmers. CARP is merely a land distribution scheme. Distributing lands to the farmers is not enough for them to survive since they need other things like irrigation, seedlings, fertilizers, pesticides, and a good farm-to-market roads. Without government support, CARP-beneficiaries end up debt-ridden and their lands are sequestered.

I think that what is more appropriate is that the land be distributed to the farmers but they do not have the right to sell the awarded lands. In return for foregoing their exclusive ownership the land, the government will provide them seedlings (including the new strains developed in International Rice Research Institute), fertilizers, and pesticides. Aside from those things, the government can also subsidize, partially or fully, the education of the sons and daughters of the farmers. This scheme will be more effective in helping our farmers out of poverty, help in reducing the exodus of people from the provinces to the urban areas, and somehow solve our problems in rice supply.