President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday signed into law a new agrarian reform law to continue the administration’s vow to free agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) from the plight of debt burden.
Mr. Marcos inked Republic Act No. 11953 or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act here in Malacañang, days before his second State of the Nation Address in July 24.
Under the new law, all unpaid amortization of the principal debt from land awarded under the Presidential Decree No. 27, Republic Act No.6657, and Republic Act No. 9700, including interest and surcharges incurred by ARBs are all condoned.
“Sa ilalim ng mga batas agraryo, ang bawat magsasaka ay may utang na katumbas ng halaga ng lupa na ibinigay sa kanila. Kailangan nilang bayaran ito sa loob ng hindi hihigit ng 30 taon dagdag ang anim na porsyento interes bago tuluyang maging kanila ang lupa,” said the President, who is also serving as the Department of Agriculture Chief.
“Panahon na para makalaya sila sa pagkakautang na ito, this is why on September 13, 2022, I signed the EO (Executive Order) 4 imposing a one year moratorium on the payment of amortization on agrarian debt by our beneficiaries,” he added.
A sum of P57.55B of unpaid principal debt will be condoned to benefit 610,054 ARBs tilling 1.173 million hectares of land.
The law will also assume the obligation of 10,201 ARBs tilling 11,531.24 hectares of land and pay the remaining balance of the direct compensation due to landowners under the Voluntary Land Transfer (VLT) or Direct Payment Scheme (DPS) amounting to P206M.
After the signing, the Department of Agrarian Reform simultaneously distributed 32,441 Certificate of Land Ownership Awards to beneficiaries across the country.
The New Agrarian Emancipation Act is part of the priority bills the Chief Executive stressed during his first SONA last year.
“Congress must pass a law that will emancipate the agrarian reform beneficiaries from the agrarian debt burden,” Mr. Marcos previously said in his SONA in 2022.
The condonation also free the awarded lands from all mortgage liens in favor of the national government.
The law also exempts ARBs from the payment of estate tax.
Meanwhile, beneficiaries who fully paid their agrarian debt will be given priority of access to credit facilities and support services.
The beneficiaries are also automatically registered in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) of the Department of Agriculture, which would entitle them to all support services given to farmers by the DA and by other government agencies.
Moreover, Department of Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III welcomed the signing of the new law.
“By freeing farmers from agrarian debt, and ensuring broader support services and credit facilities the Marcos administration has given more resources to our farmers to increase the productivity of their farms and uplift the quality of their lives,” Estrella said.