I.

Rationale

The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) has as its primary objectives both the
improvement of equality and the increase in productivity and growth in the rural areas. Its goals are
to provide landowners equality in terms of earnings and opportunities, empower land proprietor bene-
ficiaries to have equitable land ownership, arrange agricultural production and productivity, offer
employment to extra agricultural workers, and placed an end to conflicts concerning land possession.
In addition, the welfare of the landless farmers and farmworkers will obtain the
highest consideration to promote social justice and to transport the nation closer to sound
rural improvement and industrialization, and the established order of owner cultivator ship
of economic-length farms as the premise of Philippine agriculture.

II. History

Agrarian reform is a 100-year history of unfinished reforms after the US took over the land of the Phili-
ppines from the Spaniards. CARP also has a long history of process in implementing it. After the
Philippines gained its independence (The New Republic) land tenure remains a problem. From the
administration of Pres. Manuel Roxas up to Pres. Corazon Aquino who signed R.A No. 6657 also known
as Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law that became the legal basis of the CARP, that aims to promote
industrialization, providing the mechanism for its implementation, social justice and other purposes. It
doesn’t end to the Aquino administration it continued and improved by the administrations of Ramos,
Estrada, Arroyo, Aquino III, and todays current President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. In 1988, the CARP for
the first time covered all agriculture lands regardless of crops and tenurial arrangements, the land
distribution greatly increased for about 7 million hectares with 4.2 million farmer beneficiaries. The
largest accomplishment in land distribution under CARP was during the administration of Ramos, which
doubled the overall performance of the preceding administration. However, despite this success
testimonies beneath his management, similar to the preceding administration, loopholes and
controversies rose in which hundreds of hand-to-mouth farmers have been being burdened by the
landlords driving them out of their farms and leave them nothing.

III. Development/Achievements

 As of May 31, 2007, the program has covered 84.46 percent (3.69 million hectares).
 In Western Visayas, 359,534 hectares of lands that have been distributed to a total of 227,584
farmer-beneficiaries.
 There is also 89,524-hectare registered leasehold with 76,988 leaseholders in the region.
 The DAR Adjudication Board has also resolved a total of 15,142 cases while the agrarian legal
assistance has resolved 64,140 cases.
 Also established in the region are 156 Agrarian Reform Communities (ARC) covering 104
municipalities and 381 barangays.
 Presently, there are 35 on-going CARP-funded projects being undertaken by the Department of
Public Works and Highways (DPWH) while 145 were already completed.
 There are also eight on-going irrigation projects while 15 were reported already completed by
the National Irrigation Administration in Region 6.
 It is also reported that foreign-assisted projects in the form of farm-to-market roads, irrigation
system, post harvest facilities, potable water system and other development support projects
are now benefiting the ARCs in the region's six provinces.
  As of Dec. 31, 2006, DAR report said the total amount of foreign assisted projects
P854,820,626.00.
 President Duterte also placed 400 hectares of agricultural lands in Boracay under CARP.
 Under his administration the DAR created an anti-corruption task force to investigate and handle
reports on alleged anomalous activities by officials and employees of the department.
 The Department also pursues an “Oplan Zero Backlog” in the resolution of cases in relation to
agrarian justice delivery of the agrarian reform program to fast-track the implementation of
CARP.

IV. Reactions
As I read the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, it made me feel happy because under
this program it offers benefits and could able to convey the rights of every abused farmers. The
implementation of this program must take effect right away so that the land that was allocated for the
farmer will be claimed by them and so that they could able to have a comfortable living for their family
and could able to provide education to their sons and daughters which is very significant in the lives of
every youth. May today’s administration will successfully implement CARP so that it will bring prosperity
to our country. I hope that the people behind those obstacles of implementing it will be arrested and
give justice to those unfortunate people that were abused, tortured and killed.

 Do you think the objectives of CARP are achieved today?

Partially it was achieved but not that fully in terms of implementing it nationwide there some parts
of the Philippines that wasn’t executed yet and I believe there are some anomalies and issues regarding
to lands that are not distributed properly. For instance, the Hacienda Luisita land dispute many farmers
were tortured, being arrested without legal basis, and worst being killed. Today’s era it wasn’t fully
implemented which is very unfortunate to all farmers who longed for their land share so that they could
able to nurture and harvest crops that would help our economy to boost when it comes to the agricultural
aspect. Under the Pres. Duterte’s administration he ordered DAR to create an anti-corruption task
force to investigate and handle reports on alleged anomalous activities by officials and employees of
the department. At least through that we’re at peace that the administration have the will to arrest some
corrupt officials and divide the land for the abused farmers according to the law.

 What do you think are the factors that hinder the implementation of CARP?
I think the factors that hinder the implementation of CARP are the lack of political will, greed of land
owners especially when he has a big position in the field of politics, and the relatively slow pace of
approval of survey plans. These factors really affects the implementation of CARP because if there is
no political will or the aggressiveness to take effect on it then the program won’t really work, if there are
some corrupt politicians that openly or secretly owns some large lands therefore they will collaborate
and formulate some strategies so that they could hinder the implementation of the CARP, and if survey
plans approval has a slow pace then we won’t know the boundaries or part of the land that should be
divided equally that would lead into interruption of the process.