IKINAGALAK ni Sen. Cynthia Villar ang paglagda ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sa bill upang mabura ang utang ng mga magsasaka at agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).

Nilagdaan ng Pangulo noong Biyernes ang Republic Act No. 11953 o ang ‘New Agrarian Emancipation Act’ na nagpapawalang bisa sa lahat principal at interes ng utang ng may 610,054 ARBs.

Binigyan ang mga ito ng agricultural land sa ilalim ng Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

“I thank President Marcos for prioritizing the needs of vulnerable populations in the agriculture sector. With this law, our farmers and their beneficiaries are being offered a fresh start, a way out in a cycle of debt and poverty,” ani Villar, principal sponsor ng panukalang batas.

Ipinahayag niya na ang pag-condone sa amortization “will provide them much-needed financial resources that shall help them develop their farms, increase their productivity, and advance an agriculture-driven economy to accelerate rural development and promote food security.”

Sinabi rin ng chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, na matagal nang hinintay ng mga magsasaka at farmworkers ang pagsasabatas ng bill para matupad ang pangarap na maging sa kanila ang lupang sinasaka.

“Without land in their name, our farmers cannot access credit as they lack collateral to secure the same,” giit ni Villar

Sa ilalim ng batas, mawawala na ang P57.5 billion principal debt ng 610,054 ARBs na sumasaka sa 1,173,101.57 ektaryang agrarian reform lands. Wala na rin ang P14.5 billion principal loan, interes, multa at surcharges ng 263,622 ARBs na nagsasaka sa 409,206.91 ektaryang lupa. Hindi na rin sila pagbabayadin ng estate tax.

Naisumite na rin ng Land Bank of the Philippines sa Kongreso ang mga pangalan at iba pang detalye ng utang.

“The inclusion of the remaining P43.057 billion loan would take effect upon submission by the LBP and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) of details of the indebtedness to government of the 346,432 ARBs, tilling 763,894.66 hectares of agrarian reform lands.”

Sa ilalim ng batas, mababalewala rin ang lahat ng kaso ng ARBs dahil sa hindi pagbabayad ng utang. Makakasama sila sa Department of Agriculture Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture para mabigyan ng lahat ng suporta.

“This law will help alleviate the plight of ARBs, who are farmers; for them to recover and overcome the fallout of the COVID-19 crisis, the devastating African swine fever, the ongoing avian influenza, the increasing cost of fertilizer, fuel, and other farm inputs, and climate change,” sabi pa ni Villar.