DAR, Landbank issue guidelines on moratorium for land payments of beneficiaries
The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines have issued a joint order providing the implementing guidelines for the moratorium on the payment of land amortization and interests for agrarian reform beneficiaries.
In a joint news release on Thursday, DAR and Landbank said Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III, and Landbank president and CEO Cecilia Borromeo signed the Joint Administrative Order which provides the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for Executive Order No. 4 series of 2022 on September 28, 2022.
The EO 4, signed by President Bongbong Marcos, orders a year-long moratorium on the annual amortization and interest payments of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) who received lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
The agencies said the IRR they signed specifies that the one-year moratorium covers the payment of the Principal Value and the Annual Interest Due and payable by the ARBs.
“The one-year moratorium period will provide the needed time for Congress to pass the law condoning the existing agrarian reform loans for the current ARBs and free land distribution for future beneficiaries,” Estrella said.
The moratorium primarily covers the financial obligation to pay the total cost of the land under Presidential Decree No. 27, including interest at the rate of 6% per annum as provided under Section 6 of E.O. No. 228; and the financial obligation to pay the principal value including the 6% annual interest of the 30-year land amortization of the ARBs under Section 26 of RA No. 6657, as amended.
“Landbank supports this historic initiative which is now taking off. We will provide immediate financial relief to ARBs nationwide, and yield positive results towards ensuring food security in the country,” said Borromeo.
Landbank serves as the collection agent of the National Government for land amortizations from ARBs, pursuant to its mandate as the financial intermediary of the CARP.
All collections are remitted by the Bank to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) as part of the revenue of the National Government.
The DAR and the Landbank said their Joint Administrative Order covers the identification of beneficiaries qualified to avail of the one-year payment suspension, with the impact of the initiative to enhance the productivity and profitability of the ARBs duly documented and promoted.
The EO 4, meanwhile, directs the DAR and the Landbank to jointly submit to the Office of the President, through the Office of the Executive Secretary, a comprehensive report on the implementation of this Order, including data on the number of ARBs actually covered and impact of the moratorium, among others.
The agencies said their Joint Administrative Order shall take effect upon publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. —LBG, GMA News
