Lawmakers on Saturday assailed the P2-billion cut in the 2019 proposed budget of the Department of Agrarian Reform, which they said could adversely affect the implementation of the agrarian reform program.
During the budget deliberations conducted by the House committee on appropriations, DAR Secretary John Castriciones disclosed that the DAR budget was slashed by P2 billion or 20 percent of its original proposal which was submitted to the Budget department
The DAR’s proposed budget for 2019 amounts to P8.202 billion.
“Actually we made a proposal to DBM for a higher budget. There was a considerable amount of budget that was cut because some of the foreign-assisted projects [FAPS] have already closed down,” Castriciones told the panel presided by Reps. Michael John Duavit of Rizal and Joey Sarte Salceda of Albay, vice chairpersons of the House appropriations committee.
Castriciones’ disclosure worries Akbayan Party-list Rep. Tom Villarin.
“If Agrarian Reform is still the centerpiece program of this administration, perhaps the budget should not have been cut,” Villarin said.
He added that the government needs to continue the agrarian reform program because millions of hectares of land have yet to be transferred to the farmers.
Salceda was also dismayed over the agency’s budget.
“What you need for the agency should be given. All you need to do is ask,” said Salceda on the budget cut.
Salceda said DAR has the highest credibility in terms of FAPs. “Lahat ng magagandang projects at napaka-governance compliant po,” he added.
“I cannot imagine why your budget is like the budget of a funeral home,” he added in jest.
To date, there are already 4.8 million lands distributed of which 1.8 million are compensable by the Land Bank of the Philippines. The rest are non-compensable, government-identified lands, and settlements.
Villarin also asked Castriciones on his thoughts about the extension of the notice of coverage. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reform or CARPER provided a sunset provision for non-extension of NOC.
“It was the President himself who encouraged the second phase of Agrarian Reform Program,” said Castriciones.
According to Castriciones, DAR has prepared and submitted to the President for review a proposed bill. Thereafter, the measure will be forwarded to the House of Representatives for evaluation.
The DAR-proposed bill will cover the following: (1) continuous service of NOC to lands which will be seized by DAR for distribution to farmers; (2) inclusion of vast coverage of government-owned lands as suggested by the President; (3) free distribution of lands so that the farmers will no longer pay for the parcels of lands that will be distributed to them.
