Dar chief lauds Bayanihan 2 passage
Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary John Castriciones Tuesday lauded the recent passage of Republic Act (RA) 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act or Bayanihan II, which he said will provide great benefit to the government’s Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program or CARP.
Signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday, 11 September, Castriciones said the measure is most timely as the DAR is launching a number of projects to ensure the productivity of the CARP-awarded lands, the parcelization of collective Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) and the validation of the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB) national listing.
“It is a critical juncture in the annals of the legislative history of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) in the country. It is one of the strongest manifestations of support given by Congress to the second phase of agrarian reform of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” Castriciones said.
“It is one concrete benefit that shall be felt by the ARB who stand in the frontlines in the current pandemic to ensure the continuous supply of agricultural products in the areas affected by the COVID-19,” he added.
Castriciones said Section 4, Paragraph (m) of the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act eases the financial burden imposed by law on the ARB.
Pay obligation
Previously, RA 6657 (The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law or CARL) imposes upon ARBs the obligation to pay for the agricultural lands awarded to them by annual amortizations for 30 years from the issuance of the CLOA at an interest rate of 6% per annum.
He said under the Bayanihan Law 2, the principal obligation is restructured. The six percent annual interest is condoned and all previous payments for interest are credited as principal payment.
“This is an unprecedented move on the part of Congress since the passage of the CARL on 15 June 1988,” Castriciones said.
Castriciones said he shall be convening the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council Executive Committee (PARC EXCom) to guide DAR in the formulation of the implementing rules and regulations of Section 4 Paragraph (m) of RA 11494.
As this developed, DAR Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Atty. Luis Meinrado Pañgulayan, said despite the fact that the Bayanihan Law 2 is only in full force and effect until the next adjournment of the Eighteenth Congress on 19 December 2020, the condonation of the six percent annual interest and the restructuring of the principal obligation of the ARB become a permanent set of statutory benefits.
Initial assessment
Meanwhile, Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) senior vice president Alex Lorayes made an initial assessment of the positive impact of the Bayanihan Law 2 on the ARB.
He said the outstanding Agrarian Reform Receivables (ARR) on the principal balance as of 31 July 2020 is P14.54 billion. The principal amortization of those currently outside the ARR in the amount of P44.21 billion covering an area of 780,759 hectares shall start after the issuance of individual titles under the parcelization project of the DAR.
Source: https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2020/09/16/dar-chief-lauds-bayanihan-2-passage/
