AGRARIAN Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella 3rd said on Saturday that he has ordered a moratorium on the distribution of lands owned by state universities and colleges as mandated by Executive Order (EO) 75.
EO 75, issued in 2019 by former president Rodrigo Duterte, tasked all departments, bureaus, offices and instrumentalities of the government to identify lands suitable for agriculture for distribution to landless war veterans, surviving spouses or orphaned children, retired military and police personnel, and agricultural courses graduates.
“I am putting a moratorium on the [distribution of] lands owned by state colleges and universities. We should study the implications as the lands owned by the universities are usually used in the research of students, especially those who are studying agriculture,” Estrella said in a radio interview.
Estrella added that more than 200,000 hectares of government lands are expected to be distributed to qualified recipients under EO 75.
“So far, at least 100,000 government lands are ready for distribution,” he added.
In his first State of the Nation Address in July, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. vowed to pursue the distribution of idle government agricultural lands, noting that the Agriculture department is working hard to make it happen.
Estrella expressed confidence that Congress will pass within one year a law that will amend Section 26 of Republic Act 6657 or the “Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1998” that will emancipate agrarian reform beneficiaries from the burden of debt.
“I am sure that before the end of the one-year moratorium on the payment of land amortization and interest payments, Congress will be able to pass a law, especially if the President will certify the bill as urgent,” he said.
“If the President promises something, he will make sure it will be fulfilled as he is set to sign the executive order calling for a moratorium on payment of amortization fees and interests by the agrarian reform beneficiaries right in time of his birthday on September 13,” Estrella added.
He said that once passed into law, the bill on the condonation of the amortizations and interests payments of agrarian reform beneficiaries will write off at least P58 billion in existing loans.
Earlier, Marcos said the proposed law will benefit at least 654,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries covering a total of 1.18 million hectares of awarded lands.
“Various bills on the condonation were already filed in the House of Representatives and in the Senate led by Sen. Imee Marcos. At least P58 billion loans of farmers will be covered by the measure, but we don’t expect it to affect our GDP (gross domestic product),” Estrella said.
