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Can Government Implement CARPER?By Ramon T. Ayco, Sr.

September 10, 2011

One big problem in theimplementation of CARP

(Comprehensive Agrarian Reform

Program) is the implementoritself: the Department of Agrarian

Reform (DAR)). This was thecontention of Jimmy Tadeo, anagrarian reform constitutionalistwho is claiming to be pushing for

the implementation of agrarianreform for almost five decades

since its promulgation into lawduring President Diosdado

Macapagals administration.Jimmy Tadeo responding to the subject: CARPERimplementation.

In the launching of the Focus on the Global Souths Policy Review issue on

Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program with Extension and Reform (CARPER)entitled The Deadline Nears: Can Government Implement CARPER?, JimmyTadeo said, DAR bureaucracy is bloated, inefficient, pro-landlord, pro-developer,land agent, and corrupt.

The DAR bureaucracy has an attitude of self preservation according to Tadeo.

CARP should be implemented up to June 30, 2014. But, Tadeo said, the DARpeople told me: Ka Jimmy, hindi kami magtatrabaho: hindi namin tatapusin ang

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programa! Pag tinapos namin, tapos din kami sa June 30, 2014.(Ka Jimmy, wewill not work: we will not finish the program! If we finished it, we will also befinished in June 30, 2014.).

In the said launching, the authors and presenters of the paper, Mary Ann Manahanand Carmina Flores-Obanil of the Focus on the Global South, presented symbolicnumbers representing the highlights of their study which are: 35 or 3; 1.5; 1.1;

24; 54.2, 51.2 and 47.0; 4; 9.3. The numbers represent the following:

35 is the number of months left to the government to accomplish the landacquisition and distribution component of CARPER

3 is the equivalent number in years 1.5 million hectares is the amount of lands that still need to be redistributed 1.1 million Filipinos are the target beneficiaries and will be helped out of

their poverty situation if CARPER accomplishes its targets

24 hectares (belonging to the category of large landholdings) and above isthe size of most of the lands that are now up for distribution

54. 2 percent is the poverty incidence in Masbate in 2009, 51.2 in NorthernSamar and 47.0 percent in Camarines Surall three provinces areconsistently in the list of provinces with highest land redistribution backlog

Php 4 billion was cut from the budget of DAR in the current (2011) budgetwhile 9.3 percent was the ratio of lands distributed in 2009 vs. overall target

The presenters concluded:

Poverty incidences and backlog in land reform; lowered budget vs. crunch timefor implementation; where the backlog is and who the owners are of the large

landholdings: the numbers speak strongly about the state of agrarian reform in

the country. The numbers should move government and civil society actors towardmaking a commitment to fulfil the provisions of CARPER.

The launching, conducted in a form of a roundtable discussion, held in BalayKalinaw, UP Diliman, Quezon City, on September 9. 2011, was participated by

different agrarian reform groups of civil society including the Project DevelopmentInstitute; and the government agencies: DAR, DENR (Department of Environment

and Natural Resources), and NAPC (National Anti-Poverty Commission).